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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28163478">In The Shadow of Asora</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susimau/pseuds/Susimau'>Susimau</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Asorazey [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Brother!Yunho, Character Death, Eventual Romance, Families of Choice, Jongho is a mysterious man, M/M, Mechanic!Jongho, Mechanic!Mingi, Prince!Yeosang, Rebellion, Social Issues, Strangers to Lovers, Yeosang is a cutie, prince!seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:40:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>42,958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28163478</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susimau/pseuds/Susimau</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Asorazey: a town on a cliff, split by an abyssal canyon. East is where the nobles sleep, west is where the outlaws creep.</p><p>Jongho grows up in a divided city. Every day he fights for his survival in the slums of what has one been an united kingdom that had surpassed countless other places in its glory. </p><p>Enter Yeosang, a prince from the extravagant east side. A man, who is writing a book about their city wthout ever having been exposed to the outside world.</p><p>No one is allowed to cross the canyon.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Asorazey [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>182</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Zey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In Zey, not minding your own business was a foolproof tactic to end your life.</p><p>Jongho sat perched on a metal canopy belonging to one of many narrow houses and watched the spectacle in the main street underneath him unfold. The clamour had also attracted the attention of other inhabitants. Jongho made eye-contact with one of the boys he knew from his errands that sat on the roof opposite from Jongho. The dark eyes underneath his hood glinted with excitement as he observed.</p><p>In the alley that they called their most popular highway merely because of its slightly smoother cobblestone pavement, a heated discussion took place. From what Jongho had gathered on his way, one of the merchants that populated the streets had been caught redhanded at a misdeed. The older man with a well-groomed white beard ranted and raved disbelievingly at the automaton that had the task of patrolling the streets.</p><p>The considerably smaller human didn't have the same kind of gritty determination that most of Zey's people portrayed. Jongho suspected he had either developed dementia or his position as a person with at least a bit of money to his name had made him cocky. Thus, he had broken the most essential unspoken law.</p><p>Either way, the tall automaton appeared less than pleased with the barrage of obscenities that met it. It had barely titled its conical head with the two slits that resembled eyes. It didn't say a word, but from his position, Jongho could see the countless little gears ratter inside the robot's head. White steam rose from the motor inside its chest without pause. In a gesture that was far too human for Jongho's liking, it crossed its arms in front of its torso. Its metal body sat on a large brass ball that allowed it to hunt down anybody who dared to sneak around after curfew.</p><p>Jongho knew how to evade them in nightly settings, but in broad daylight, dodging them was a nearly impossible task. They brought what could be considered as laws and justice to Zey, and played a vital role in everybody's lives.</p><p>"I keep telling you that I wasn't the one to steal! There was a kid, five years or so, he looked completely different than me! Shouldn't you be hunting him instead of me?!" The merchant pushed his chubby stomach out to seem more intimidating to the uncaring automaton. Wary, Jongho watched it beckon him to follow it to the office once more.</p><p>The automatons in all their shiny glory were not the ones making the final judgment. They were programmed for certain tasks that this man currently tried to stall. Jongho adjusted his mask in front of his face to protect his lungs from the poisonous emissions that clogged the air.</p><p>The merchant's retreating hairline glistened with sweat. Like hungry vultures, the curious audience watched over him and his fate. Thick tension that only them but not the machine felt filled the air.</p><p>The robot tried to urge the man to hurry one last time. When he refused again and only clutched the straps of his backpack tightly, its demeanour changed. As it rose its arm that quickly shifted into a weapon, the people began dispersing to protect their own skins.</p><p>Jongho got up and stepped away as the single shot sounded. They never missed.</p><p>With his teeth gritted, Jongho swung his body up onto the roofs of the tightly aligned houses once more. He began skipping over the obstacles in his way as he concentrated on getting home soon. No need to think about it.</p><p>He had gotten distracted by a person foolish enough to offer help in Zey. Before the merchant had been spotted, Jongho had seen him gesture the kid to run as he blocked the path.</p><p>"He had that comin' for him," said a voice behind Jongho as if to finish his train of thought. Jongho didn't slow his steps, and neither did he mind when the man he had seen earlier caught up with him. Jongho barely remembered his name whenever they met; it was that seldom.</p><p>"Don't be a smartass. A person died." Jongho jumped another gap and landed smoothly when the gadget he wore strapped around his right leg took most of his momentum. Without pause, he continued making his way further south. Nothing shifted his mood; he had seen enough to stop caring.</p><p>"Mind your gages; it isn't as if you knew him." The other man's boots thumped against the dull stone all the houses were made of as he kept up with Jongho easily. Irked by his presence, Jongho tried to remember his name to tell him off.</p><p>"What do you want, Youjin?"</p><p>Youjin's muffled laughter barely left his hood. Like a shadow, he darted along Jongho's side.</p><p>"Boss's been askin' me to find you. Seems as if he has another job for you." He shrugged it off.</p><p>Jongho nodded, relieved at the good news. A new job meant money which meant a few days more of living. That was all he wanted.</p><p>"I will pay him a visit tomorrow, then."</p><p>Youjin gave a lazy salute before he abruptly jumped down into one of the alleys and disappeared from Jongho's side like a ghost. Jongho was left alone on the empty roofs to continue parkouring by himself. The constant hiss of the machines on his body was the only noise that accompanied him back home. He kept his head low and his face hidden in his dark scarf even as nobody was around to approach him.</p><p>By the time he also dropped down into the alley that led to his home, the sun had already crept far enough down the sky to graze this side of the cliff barely. It disappeared completely from sight when Jongho landed on his feet safely. The dark and wet walls of the city engulfed him like a protective cloak as he stepped up to his home's door.</p><p>Like anywhere in Zey, his house was cramped between two other ones. He was living on the second level of four which he had always been thankful for. The rain did not reach them there; it only bugged his neighbours.</p><p>Jongho let himself in and pulled his mask off first thing as soon as the door was closed. He breathed in the not fresh but also not as deadly air greedily. As he kicked off his boots in no particular corner, his eyes already tried to spot the figure that had curled up in the single bed in the room. He could barely see behind the curtain that divided the sleeping area from the rest, but he believed to notice something shift.</p><p>"Hey, dad!" Jongho called out loud enough to be heard over the hum of machines that came from outside at any time of the day.</p><p>No answer.</p><p>Sighing, Jongho put down his bag next to his working bench and patted the head of the little clockwork bunny he had left there. At his touch, the cogs whirred to life, and it curiously turned its head towards him. A soft melody that came from the music box within started playing and had Jongho smile at peace.</p><p>Jongho left his jacket on the ramshackle chair in front of it before he went to heat water for some tea. He activated their little boiler and leant next to it on the wall as he watched it work hard to generate heat by supplying steam.</p><p>In the middle of adding the tea Jongho's father rose from his bed. He tumbled from behind the curtain with his greying hair wild and sunken eyes. Startling at the ashen paleness of his skin, Jongho quickly stood to gently push him back down. Belated, his father looked up at him, and a gleeful smile that missed some teeth appeared on his wrinkled face.</p><p>"Oh, there you are, boy! I was just wondering when you would come home." With a fond pat on Jongho's hip, he allowed the younger man to put him back underneath his blankets.</p><p>"I just came in, sorry for startling you." Jongho snapped his brown leather gloves off his fingers before he reached to feel his father's forehead. Humming, he leant into the touch.</p><p>Jongho had to chuckle as he took his hand off his burning skin. Worry etched into his heart, but he tried his best not to let it show on his features.</p><p>"How are you feeling today?"</p><p>Using his impeccable aim, Jongho threw his gloves onto his working table. The bunny curiously hopped onto them, its machines whirring with a tune far more pleasant than the roaring outside. The boiler hissed and alerted Jongho of its temperature.</p><p>As he knelt next to it to finish the tea, his father settled back comfortably against his pillows.</p><p>"Wonderful, I feel wonderful! I might be back to full health, let's go out on a trip sometime, son!"</p><p>Jongho sighed as he left the tea where it was and pulled the curtain to his father open. While he waited, he fetched his dad's medicine and frowned at its dwindling amount as he handed it over.</p><p>"Youjin approached me today with another job. As soon as you are back to health we can go," Jongho promised. He washed both of their mugs, taking the splintered one for himself so that his father would not cut his dry lips on it.</p><p>"I dislike that Youjin fella. Whenever you take jobs from him, you are near the Chasm." A dry cough shook the man's gaunt body. Jongho worriedly watched him as he poured their tea. His father was heaving for breath, and his eyes were glassy from the fever as he settled back. When he noticed Jongho's vigilance, he giggled weakly.</p><p>"See, it brings bad luck. Stay away from that place. I don't want you falling."</p><p>Jongho brought him his tea and helped him sit up with a smile on his face.</p><p>"It's not as if anybody could overlook a giant canyon in the ground, don't worry." Jongho unwrapped his medicine for him and mixed it in his tea before handing it over. With trembling fingers and barely enough strength to hold the object by himself, he drank. Jongho supported him with one hand.</p><p>"If not the Chasm, then the automatons. They don't care what you are there for. If they see you lurking, they shoot." He spilt wisdom as if he was the one living outside every day, but it had Jongho listen to him fondly. At least his memories kept his sick father entertained.</p><p>"My great-grandfather told me about how peaceful it was before the big earthquake. There was no canyon back then and no robots that hindered you from crossing it."</p><p>Jongho looked into the murky water that his tea was as he circled his wrist to stir it.</p><p>"You speak as if you want to go to Asora."</p><p>Flabbergasted, his father stared at him. His watery eyes were wide, and his lips parted with indignance.</p><p>"No way! I'm not interested in those arrogant narcissists! I would not know either way. No one crosses the Chasm, but back in the day, son, back in the day when there was no chasm the people freely travelled!" His cheeks had reddened from the fever, so Jongho quietly urged him to drink more. As soon as he was done, he sunk back and Jongho put the mug away.</p><p>He finished his own, too, and brought the bunny over to his father so he could revel in its sweet tunes as he closed his eyes once more. Jongho adjusted his blankets just when his dad spoke up again. His voice was barely more than a gust of breath, and Jongho had to strain to hear it.</p><p>"Oh, Jongho, you came home? Let me just sleep for a bit; then we can go on a trip." With that, he fell asleep again.</p><p>Jongho worriedly stared down at his relaxed form. Even after eight months of sickness, his father was showing no signs of improvement. It was as if the fever stubbornly clung to him like the remnants of sticky oil. No amount of medicine seemed to be able to wash it off. Jongho liked to blame it on his mother, assuming that she was too unsatisfied with her early death to let go of his father's soul just yet.</p><p>He needed her to stop soon.</p><p>Jongho wanted to go on a trip with his father. Preferably to Asora, the beautiful eastern part of the city. It was the place where his father had always wanted to go.</p><p>Rich and shining Asora, a dreamy city of white marble and glass that reflected the sun in all colours of the rainbow. The place where the royal family resided and people didn't hunger every day.</p><p>The city on the other side of the Chasm.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi and welcome here! I hope you enjoy reading! If anything is majorly confusing to you, don't be shy to ask and also check my Twitter Susimau_s for story insights and visual representation of some things!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Like A Clockwork</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongho stepped out of his home in the early morning hours and left his dad in the land of dreams. He didn't need to wake him to go out, and like this, he would dodge his wrath towards Youjin's chef.</p><p>Given the character of most of his jobs, Jongho could not blame him. But Youjin's chef was also Jongho's chef at many times.</p><p>Before Jongho sought him out, he delivered another commission first. One of the engineers nearby had needed him to build a steam-powered motor, so he could further use it for his inventions. Jongho had spent his night finishing the machine and putting all the little pieces together with great patience. His bunny had sweetened the long and cold hours with its soft melodies, but as soon as Jongho dropped the thing off, he allowed himself to sigh behind his mask.</p><p>It was all the same. An endless circle of work and tiredness. The people of Zey worked like a well-oiled machine. They were the interior of a clock, countless little cogs that had to fit perfectly together to work. And Asora, mighty and beautiful Asora in the distance was the clock face. The clock only worked because of Zey's people, but its face neither knew that nor did it have to care. It would continue ticking away as long as the tiny cogs were running.</p><p>Jongho had drawn his shoulders in as he marched through the narrow alleys. As he dodged people with twists and turns of his torso, he tried not to touch a single one of them. He didn't want to get too close.</p><p>As usual, Zey was grey. Zey was grey at any time of the day, even when the sun stood high since the tall buildings overshadowed the narrow alleys. At least it wasn't wet today, and Jongho could hurry through the loud and busy districts in peace.</p><p>Youjin was nowhere in sight when Jongho arrived. His boss lived in another poverty-stricken home between other homes. His door was deformed out of the frame and let a sliver of light fall through when Jongho rapped his gloved fingers against the grimy wood.</p><p>"Come in! It's open!"</p><p>Foolish idiot. Leaving doors open in Zey was nearly as deadly as offering help.</p><p>Jongho left the gloomy ghetto behind for a moment when he stepped inside. He had been here often, whenever it took him to run around the city and collect some good from a faraway place. The boss was not as poor as most people here, given the opportunities for his job. Yet, he didn't show off. He lived in the same penury as they all did, or else his house would probably get robbed from him under his feet.</p><p>Jongho didn't make an effort to pull his boots off. Instead, he directed his gaze right at the man who lounged in a chair that was not nearly as brittle as Jongho's was. The man nursed a cup of tea, and he offered Jongho one, too, but he gruffly declined.</p><p>"Well, you came for the job, didn't you?"</p><p>"What else would bring me here? Do you think I have the time to play around and visit friends?"</p><p>The middle-aged man laughed into his fist until his giggled transformed into painful coughs. Jongho crossed his arms and waited until he finished.</p><p>By the time he had calmed again, his face was red and contorted in a grimace. Jongho figured he had the air sickness that slowly ate away at him.</p><p>"Fair, boy. But you might want to sit down for this job. I'm about to introduce you to a new area full of treasures. Let's call in an upgrade. You have been to Asora before, haven't you?"</p><p>Jongho regarded the man with narrow eyes. He was not an enemy, that much was clear, but the implications behind his words had Jongho doubt him naturally.</p><p>"Yeah. But Asora is not exactly easy to enter or leave."</p><p>Jongho had been lucky the one time he had crossed the Chasm. He had been alone, as he always was, but he had followed the steps of a moronic group of friends that had sworn to overtake the town or something like that. He had gone over safely and looked around for a bit before leaving again. Blending in was difficult for him, and while Asora had fewer security systems since they trusted each other, the area near the Chasm was risky. That did not keep many of Zey's youths from trying, though.</p><p>Even back then, Jongho had snorted disbelievingly at the city. They lived in luxury and laughter as if they didn't see the poor and dying slums on the other side of the cliff. Their streets were big and pretty, they wore clean and expensive clothing, and the royal family was praised for their hard work everywhere.</p><p>It had been sickening to watch. Maybe Yunho had been right about them all being a bunch of stuck-up idiots.</p><p>"I know just the man for you. He works in the canyon as a secret service to transgress. A dangerous job, but he established himself well enough that they leave him alone." The boss waggled his eyebrows at Jongho as if this was something to celebrate. Icily, Jongho stared him down until he continued with a roll of his eyes.</p><p>"The item you will steal is kept in a wooden box and looks about like this. We don't know where in the house it is, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find once you're in the right room. As always, you can take as much other stuff as you can carry."</p><p>Jongho nodded slowly, still mulling it over in his head. The payment would be grand for a job just like this, and it could get his father through a few more months without Jongho having to worry too much. He was confident enough in himself to try at least. If the Chasm spooked him too much, he could still leave.</p><p>"Fine." He snatched the folded piece of paper from the boss and looked at it. It pictured a device of some sort that seemed similar to a fuse and certainly would not work by its own. It was not his business to pry into the client's business and ask what it was, but he could not help to tilt his head to stare at it quizzically.</p><p>"How is your dad?"</p><p>"No personal questions," Jongho snapped immediately. He neatly tucked the paper in his chest pocket where it was safe under the shoulder piece that his arm's metal gadget ended in.</p><p>The boss nearly rolled his eyes at him again but stuck to crossing his legs only.</p><p>"I'm not asking for you, but his sake. Learn to trust, kid." He shook his head bemusedly. Jongho didn't find the situation particularly funny, but he tried to relax his shoulders for the sake of this man that had known his father back when both of them were still working at the factory.</p><p>"He's holding on. I see no betterment yet, but he also doesn't get worse. He talks about Asorazey and the Undying a lot these days."</p><p>Many people did. Their displeasure with the king that they didn't address as such had most of them keep their dark thoughts to themselves, but others openly spit on the street whenever he was mentioned. Given the status of Zey, the slums of a glorious city that were being disregarded by their immortal king, much despair and fury had accumulated over the years.</p><p>Jongho personally didn't feel too connected with the topic. It had been nearly two hundred years since the city had been divided, after all. The younger generation could hardly relate to the change anymore. They all had accepted the role they played in their society and barely cared about the king and his family in the castle of Asora.</p><p>"I've been hearing about it from a few people by now, yes. It seems that with his firstborn finally coming of age many people hope that the old king might get replaced. It's a hot topic, even here."</p><p>Jongho had heard about the prince and his difference from his father before, but he didn't trust the rumours. If anything, a new king could always make it worse. Even that precious prince had never even dared to visit Zey; he cared that much.</p><p>"I don't think he would be able to unite anything in this lifetime. Nature played a cruel trick on us by sending the earthquake. Even if we build bridges and travel safely, one group will always be divided from the other. Asorazey is an item of the past."</p><p>The boss nodded at Jongho's bitter judgement. His face was still pensive, but with little true hope behind it.</p><p>"You are right. In this lifetime, we won't get anywhere. As I said, that is also only if the king steps down and his son does better than he. Wishful thinking."</p><p>Jongho tipped his forehead as he pulled his mask tight around his face.</p><p>"Time to eat the rich. See you around."</p><p>"Tell your father to get better soon. I want to run the king's family down with him."</p><p>With the hint of a smile lifting Jongho's lips, he stepped out again. The talk about the flippant king and his useless son, who was nothing more than another pretty face on paper had made him hungry. He blended into the masses as he made his way to one of the many food courts that offered nutrition at low prices. He bought some soup and bread for his dad. Then some bowl of rice and various other ingredients that would give his body at least some of the strength it needed for himself.</p><p>He knew that he ate too little to keep up with his cruel life for long. The slums were unforgiving with the diseases and winters it brought. Coupled with the bad air and the amount of work they all had to do to get by, the bits of food he got were unsufficient. Jongho liked to think about himself as a machine that spluttered and groaned under the last few bits of fuel that kept it going. At least it made funny noises in his mind.</p><p>Jongho sat on one of the many roofs of Zey in the direction where the wind didn't blow as he wolfed down his food. His once white shirt that had become a dark beige with the layer of dirt that coloured it fluttered in the wind as he regarded Asora.</p><p>The castle at the centre of the city grew into the air with its white towers and the colourful airships of the fleet that constantly surrounded it. It looked down mightily over the town and over the cliff to Zey that laid in the distance like a festering sore in anybody's sight.</p><p>Jongho wondered what the old king saw when he looked out of the window. Was he blinded by his own success with Asora and blatantly disregarded Zey? Or had he completely forgotten about the people that worked to the death to allow him a fruitful life?</p><p>Jongho liked to think that his anger at his situation and the king were unimportant and fleeting. Day by day, he pretended not to care and to have lost his spirit in the ditch they had been left in long ago.</p><p>However, he cared. He cared too much. His intense need to break the rules and to change the current predicament had pushed him to accept this job even when he promised his father not to. Jongho was one of many, just one of a million tiny cogs.</p><p>But Jongho was a mechanic; he had grown up with machines.</p><p>If even one cog inside the clockwork didn't turn anymore, the whole machine was rendered useless. In his youthful dreams, Jongho liked to believe that he would be the one to stop turning and to change things. But soon, he had learned that the clockwork that this society had grown into was exchangeable. If one cog disappeared, another one filled its place. Jongho was not important enough to stop the scary monster of an engine that this city had become.</p><p>But as an adult, Jongho had learned to make use of his pettiness. Nobody cared for the tiny exchangeable ones. Hence why he felt confident stealing from them. They had brought that upon themselves by ignoring him.</p><p>Jongho finished his bowl and stood. As he brought the dishes back to the vendor, all the possibilities how he could cross the Chasm filled his mind. He would have to take another look at the head of a broken automaton he had found a while ago to figure out their weak spots once more. If he dodged them and found his supplier, then nothing would stand between him and Asora.</p><p>He decided to depart the next night when the automaton's sight was weak, and Asora slumbered peacefully in their beds while Zey never stopped to work.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Chasm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun had already set and bathed Zey in a veil of darkness by the time that Jongho reached the outskirts of town. He had been with his father during the day and made sure that he was taken care of and fed well before Jongho left for his mission. He was as confident as it could get to come back in one piece from the heavily guarded place that the canyon was. Despite fear gnawing at him all day long, he promised himself to succeed if only for his father's medicine.</p><p>Jongho's dark clothes blended well with the shadows of the evening. He crossed the obsolete streets with quick steps that echoed quietly through the ghostly town. No moon shone his path since its light got blocked by the asymmetrical and slanted buildings around him. Near the Chasm, some of them leaned dangerously towards the edge of not only the canyon itself but also the ocean that was in the south.</p><p>The people of Zey despised this particular edge of town. It was filled with automatons that killed upon sight at night while they stubbornly guarded the canyon. Youths like Jongho had once been tried to sneak around them in rebellious acts to check out the canyon and get a closer look, but most of them were shot down or disappeared in the gaping gorge. It was common knowledge not to play here since this area meant certain death for any human. Jongho had been a foolish kid. He remembered the pain of the grazing shot he had suffered on his way back. The scar it had left was his biggest to date. The working scars that metals and fires had left on his forearms were nothing in comparison.</p><p>Jongho stood hidden behind the edge of some alley as he scanned his surroundings. He had to find his informant that would safely bring him over to the other side first. The Chasm had not a single bridge or rope that connected it to the eastside. Crossing it was a nearly impossible task.</p><p>The how had yet to explain itself. For now, Jongho was busy with the where.</p><p>The canyon formed from the edge of the cliff that Asorazey had once been built upon. It ripped apart the earth through the middle of the city and far land inwards. The cleft was too deep for anybody to be able to measure it safely, and even the airships had trouble gauging a depth since the brutish ocean hindered them from getting too close. All numbers aside it was a death trap. It was too far to jump across, but yet not far enough for a whole airship to fit in between.</p><p>Enough to split society.</p><p>Jongho adjusted his hood over his mask as his eyes continued scanning his surroundings. The quiet noise of his gadgets hissing seemed nearly too loud in the depth of the night, but so far none of the soundlessly rolling automatons had spotted him. Jongho counted three of them in his direct line of sight. He had no chance to win against them.</p><p>Jongho uncomfortably waited for a while longer. The rushing of the waves crashing against the cliffs in the far distance with a force that was deadlier than any weapon eerily accompanied the quiescence of the streets. A cold wind was howling around the houses.</p><p>All of Jongho's senses were alert as he stood there, so he didn't startle at the sound of quiet footsteps coming closer. They halted right behind Jongho, and a quiet human breathing pattern reached Jongho's ears. A few seconds passed with no words being said. When everything stayed calm, the person turned to leave.</p><p>This time, Jongho followed.</p><p>From what he could discern of the tall figure in front of him the person was a man, probably exactly the one Jongho had searched for. Coupling or even grouping up in Zey came with betrayal and a great deal of distrust, hence why the guy probably worked alone.</p><p>The stranger led Jongho down an alley parallel to the Chasm and out of sight from the automatons. They exchanged not a single word as the man confidently brought Jongho over to one of the buildings. While he unlocked the door, Jongho searched the sketchy streets with watchful eyes. No one was around to see them disappear in the building together.</p><p>No light was allowed to ease their way as Jongho followed the man through a room in the back. While he pulled the rug aside, Jongho curiously watched him operate.</p><p>The guy moved with a confidence that fit his tall figure and lean frame. Yet, his every gesture was so deliberate and planned that he barely made any noise while swiftly getting the job done.</p><p>Underneath the rug was a hatch that led down into the cold earth. After the still nameless stranger had climbed in first, Jongho closed the trapdoor behind him.</p><p>Finally, a little light flashed in the dark tunnel. The walls in here were rough, the stone not smoothened out like in a real building. It was also narrow enough to have the tall man duck at any times and Jongho slightly lower his head as they walked. The path sloped downwards in the direction of the Chasm. Jongho shivered.</p><p>"I'm Mingi."</p><p>Jongho scanned the man in the faint glow that the lantern he was carrying produced. His voice was deep and slightly gruff, but Jongho could deal with that.</p><p>"Jongho."</p><p>They walked through the tunnel for about ten minutes until a set of stairs led up to another hatch. Mingi unlocked this one as well and held it open while Jongho stepped out. He found himself in a far more homely living room than the one before. It had no windows and just a single door leading outside, but the amount of personal and work-related items scattered around painted the picture of this being Mingi's main home.</p><p>Jongho found it looking comfortable, albeit a bit dark even as Mingi went and lit two more lanterns for them to see. Judging from the many ropes, hooks, and shot-related weapons lying around the man also worked with tech.</p><p>"Do you want tea? I will have to explain a few things first before we go." Mingi locked the hatch and spread a carpet over it before he set up the boiler. His was powered by a crank that he continued turning as he shifted to look at Jongho.</p><p>Jongho had pulled his hood down and let the mask rest at his neck as he regarded the dark-haired man with appropriate wariness. The little rivets that decorated it tickled his skin.</p><p>"Why not? Do you live here?"</p><p>Mingi nodded as he gestured for Jongho to get comfortable. The man sat down at the little table that Mingi must have brought in through the tunnel. The imagination was comedic.</p><p>"It's safer here. Close to work, too."</p><p>"Do you smuggle only?"</p><p>Another nod. Jongho accepted his precise answers gladly.</p><p>"I smuggle people and goods. Only in this direction, though. I don't want any ties with the people of Asora."</p><p>None of them wanted that. Jongho could relate well in that aspect.</p><p>"I never got found by the automatons, so betting on me is safe. Can't promise you safety in Asora, though."</p><p>Him finding a way to cross the Chasm safely was already more than enough help. Jongho would manage to do the rest. If he survived in Zey, dark and dangerous Zey, then he would be able to deal with the vain people of Asora.</p><p>"That's alright with me. Will you accompany me?"</p><p>"For now, yes. I also have a few things that I need from the palace."</p><p>The mention of the building brought a wry smirk upon Jongho's lips.</p><p>Of course.</p><p>It had never been about just going to Zey. He had been tricked into a damn suicide mission.</p><p>"The palace, huh?"</p><p>"Not the palace itself but one of the buildings belonging to it. They have a museum down in the eastern wing. That's where we are going." Mingi threw the tea leaves in the boiling water before he rose. He found a map in one of the cupboards and unfolded it in front of Jongho. His long fingers pointed at the U-shaped palace building. The main body of it was the part that Zey could see even in the distance. The other two sides were smaller and less important annexes.</p><p>"Our client is interested in one of the pieces that belonged to the IEI back in the day."</p><p>Jongho's brow rose on its own accord at that news. He was no archaeologist by any means, and he had never taken something of local historical interest from its place. It had been two hundred years since the Institute for Energy Infrastructure had broken apart. Originally, it had served as the centre of all energy flows in the large city until one major component got lost with the earthquake. Ever since then, only Asora had modern energies. They had the money to fund it while Zey got left in their shadow.</p><p>The IEI was history, and Jongho could only guess about what kind of person would be interested enough to acquire such an artefact.</p><p>"A collector or someone with futuristic outlooks?"</p><p>Mingi shrugged, but he seemed just as amused about the odd task like Jongho was. Both respected the similarities they found.</p><p>"Not that we need to care. Either way, we don't need to endanger ourselves in the main building. We go in, get to take some expensive hoards and get back before dawn."</p><p>"Sounds easy to me."</p><p>It wasn't. Jongho was very aware of the possible dangers that could lurk in the unknown areas of Asora. He counted on the darkness of the night to engulf them and hide their visible differences from Asora's citizens.</p><p>"Then let's drink our tea and leave."</p><p>Mingi's tea was slightly bitter from staying in the water for too long, but Jongho enjoyed it nonetheless. He suspected that it had a calming effect on his nerves since he didn't feel anxious by the time Mingi announced their departure.</p><p>The tall man went ahead of Jongho once more and unlocked the only door that led outside of his four walls. Tentatively, Jongho watched as he pulled it open and revealed black nothingness outside. The chasm.</p><p>"We are fifty meters down from the edge. The house is inside the wall so from here it's just crossing and climbing," Mingi explained quickly as he took a grapple gun from the floor and cocked a missile into it. Amazed, Jongho peeked his head out to look around. All around them, rough stone walls stretched out.</p><p>Deeply impressed, Jongho stepped back inside to watch the man work without getting in the way. Mingi moved with a practised speed and smoothness that spoke of years of training. His skill was apparent.</p><p>"It's easy. I shoot the gun; we climb over. Try not to fall." He didn't wait for Jongho to nod when he already fired. The hook embedded itself in the cliff opposite from them and the rope pulled taut when Mingi moved his arm back.</p><p>After he finished knotting the rope to a hook outside of his door, Mingi offered Jongho to go first. With confident steps, he approached the thick cord.</p><p>As he wrapped his fingers around the abrasive material, not a sense of regret washed over Jongho. Instead, he found himself excited at the prospect of making a mess in Asora. Those bastards deserved a damper put upon them.</p><p>He swung his bodyweight over without any issues. Mingi followed as soon as Jongho was stuck to the vertical wall like a spider.</p><p>Jongho didn't doubt that the door in the wall blended in so well that he would never find it again from the outside. As he slowly made his way up the eastern cliff, he had to give a point to Mingi for his help. Climbing was not an issue for Jongho and his steam-aided limbs. Getting over a chasm where no murderous robot watched was.</p><p>Jongho crawled across the edge and onto Asora's ground with a relieved breath. He hadn't been unstable, but the darkness beneath his feet that had seemed to reach for him had made him reasonably uncomfortable.</p><p>This side of the canyon had no guards. For one, because people from this side could cross over freely, and also since nobody wanted to. It was only the Zey people that weren't allowed here. Thus, Jongho scrambled to hide behind the nearest house, so he wasn't seen from the other side, in case they ever checked. He pressed up against a white stone wall next to an orderly windowbox full of blooming winter flowers.</p><p>He doubted they would.</p><p>Mingi came after him not five minutes later. Pressed closely against the house next to Jongho, he allowed himself a big smirk. Jongho wished he would wear a mask even if he appreciated the clean air over here.</p><p>"Good job. I had people who would blow a gasket as soon as I showed them the way, no less get over it so quickly."</p><p>Jongho chuckled at the compliment. He could imagine, but he didn't mention that Mingi's tea aided a lot in his calmness. By now, the adrenaline started to settle with him and made excitement about being here bubble up in his chest.</p><p>"I like that idiom. My brother used to say it a lot."</p><p>Mingi pulled a scarf out from his pocket and tied it around his mouth.</p><p>"Sounds like a good guy. Let's go."</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Asora</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Asora at night should have been dull and diluted. With the shadows, danger and wariness were supposed to come. Jongho was mightily annoyed by the fact that Asora was beautiful even in the unknown hours of the night.</p><p>Contrary to his expectations, Asora was less busy than he predicted, maybe even less engaged than Zey during the night. In Zey, some people always disregarded the curfew to do their shady work. They had to dodge the automatons whenever they did that, but they were intelligent enough to sidestep most lethal encounters. Asora had no rules to stay at home as far as Jongho knew, but the streets were empty anyway as all people had withdrawn into their warm homes.</p><p>Jongho would bet his dad's medicine that they did not have to fear a flood whenever it started to rain.</p><p>As he followed Mingi through the dimly lit and orderly alleys of Asora, Jongho could not help but agree with the ugly bitterness that spread in his chest. Not a single piece of trash was littering the ground, and no building had shattered windows or shabby walls. They all stood neatly and picturesque as if they tried to win a prize for their facades. It had Jongho sneer at them in contempt. If his dad lived here, he probably would have been healthy by now. Or even better, he would never have fallen sick.</p><p>Maybe Jongho's mother would still be alive if fate had not been so cruel as to banish them to Zey.</p><p>The need to kick one of the white walls nearly overwhelmed Jongho, but he was thankfully distracted enough by Mingi in front of him that he fought it down. Together, they darted through the sleeping city.</p><p>Mingi knew exactly where to go. He had most likely been to Asora often by now for jobs of all kinds, so he had memorised the path to the palace well.</p><p>Jongho noticed the suspicious lack of automatons. He didn't see or hear even a single of the murderous machines on their way. At first, he had found it worrisome, but after some thinking, it made sense. Asora's inhabitants didn't have any need to fear each other. The people here were living good and stable lives that didn't require acts of stealing or killing each other. Of course, they didn't need brutal bots to kill them on sight. They felt safe in their surroundings.</p><p>Jongho hated them. Them, and everything that related to Asora.</p><p>By the time they reached the palace, Jongho was drenched in sweat despite their benign journey. He expected something to jump out at them at any given time, and when nothing came, he tensed even more.</p><p>At Mingi's signal to halt, he nearly took a break to sit for a few moments before they could continue.</p><p>"We'll go in through the backdoor. Don't worry about the guards. They are human and don't expect anyone to break in."</p><p>Jongho wordlessly shook his head. He couldn't believe them.</p><p>He snuck behind Mingi as they approached the east wing of the grand castle. The towers of the main building loomed into the night sky like a piece of very fancy scrap. Their seemingly endless marble walls intimidated Jongho with their height, and he was glad that they would infiltrate the smaller building at the side.</p><p>Mingi halted near the ornate fence that wrapped around the whole compound, including the gardens prettily. He climbed it with practised ease, and Jongho followed him with even fewer effort since his gadgets helped him. Piecing those together had been one of his best ideas.</p><p>They dropped onto the lawn behind the obstacle soundlessly. Jongho allowed himself to run his fingers through the countless stalks for a short moment. He marvelled at the softness of real grass. Of course, they also had meadows and forests outside of Zey's industrially dark slums, but Jongho seldomly went there due to the lack of time and enjoyment it brought. The moments of happiness nature blessed him with were fleeting and weighed on his mind since he couldn't share them with his father.</p><p>Jongho shook the thought off and resumed his hunt after Mingi's tall figure. The stars - and Jongho could even spot a few here where the sky wasn't cloaked entirely by a layer of smoke - supervised their heist detachedly.</p><p>Mingi led Jongho around the corner of the discrete annexe. They had to wait for a couple of guards that chatted excitedly about airships to pass them before they hurried over to the door that servants probably used for entrance. Jongho watched their surroundings with flighty eyes while his companion unlocked the door.</p><p>When it opened with a soft click, Mingi audibly let go of a breath. Jongho and his still sweaty and clammy skin could relate.</p><p>They snuck in quietly and closed the door behind them. Everything was calm.</p><p>"Are there guards inside?" Jongho purposefully lowered his voice as he mumbled into his scarf. Mingi shook his head.</p><p>"Not here, no. But there are some people around to work at any times of the day. Maybe you're lucky enough to meet prince Seonghwa around the library, but I suggest you don't stay to stare for too long," Mingi said with an amused chuckle. Jongho rolled his eyes at him.</p><p>"Meet me around here once you are done. We will leave together." With that, the tall man took off through the halls of white marble.</p><p>Jongho was left on his own, and he had little idea where to go. The fuse he was searching for might as well be anywhere, and the grand corridor with the expensive red and brown accents on wall and floor left little clues about where that might be.</p><p>He decided to carefully tiptoe through the building for now. A library sounded promising; indeed, Jongho had heard of some that featured historical objects in the same area. Given the floor layout, he would presume that it was on the upper storey.</p><p>The lower floor of the building remained unappealing. Many filigree windows pointed out towards the gardens, and Jongho found an expensive double-winged door that seemed to lead to the main building. It was locked firmly with what seemed to be a puzzle of multiple sealing mechanisms that were connected by countless wires and cogs all over the door.</p><p>Jongho might have been able to break through, but since his source of interest was here, he refrained from that. All the better if nobody could surprise him from that direction.</p><p>Mingi had disappeared into one of the rooms on the lower floor, so Jongho took the dwindling staircase up. Upon stepping at the first step, he startled when a quiet mechanism whirred to life, and the platform beneath him started moving all of a sudden. It carried him up at a slow pace, sparing him the intense difficulty of walking while he still gaped at the machinery around the pillar in the middle. He arrived soon, and marvelled at the quiet technology that was fuelled my nethicite energy rather than steam for a moment.</p><p>This was what Asora kept from Zey. The energies to power things with the force of the particular material they found in the earth. Zey's people were the ones mining the nethicite. Asora's people were the only ones that used it ever since the IEI had broken apart during the earthquake.</p><p>Jongho considered taking the time to copy the machine's workways so he could utilise them himself, but he tore his eyes away from the devices forcefully. It was not the time or place, and neither would he be able to succeed without the nethicites, too. Automatons heavily guarded the mines.</p><p>While the moving staircase came to a standstill behind him once more, Jongho quickly looked left and right. No soul was in sight, so he spontaneously decided to go right. He could overlook the large foyer beneath from the gallery that rounded the whole area.</p><p>Here, the large doors looked more promising to lead to something as relevant as old monuments. Jongho pushed open one of the doors gingerly and peeked into the large room.</p><p>It seemed as if luck was on his side today. The room displayed several cabinets with different objects inside. The rows of pedestals that held them symmetrically crossed the room for the beholder to circle and look from all sides at.</p><p>Jongho hurriedly scanned the room for any possible guards or stray loiterers. When nothing in his line of sight moved, he smoothly slipped inside.</p><p>Before he got to work, Jongho checked the whole room for people. He found a few bookshelves and other cupboards that displayed smaller items of different kinds. Many had plates with explanations about the artefact in question prepared next to them. They eased Jongho's job even more.</p><p>He found the fuse he had searched for in one of the shelves. Thankfully, they were not specifically protected by thick glass or alarm mechanisms. Jongho could just slip his arm in and grab the fuse. It disappeared into his pocket while he looked around longer.</p><p>He doubted that he could find something of estimated value in this place. Historical memories had little use in Zey, and most people would mistake it for junk. If he wanted to pocket a few coins, he needed to search somewhere else.</p><p>Jongho crept out of the fancy museum room again to try the next door. This time, he actually found himself in a library. The library was a single high room that was stacked with books around every wall and a seating area in the middle. There was also a seat under the window that had a few cushions and blankets strewn around. Jongho figured that the rich prince would use the place often to educate himself on matters that he was to petty to experience himself.</p><p>Jongho pocketed a random book for his father to spend his time reading when he was bored at home. Then, he also snatched an expensive-looking vase from a shelf. Given his background, he had little experience with the worth of some items, but since it came from the palace, some merchants would be able to trade it well.</p><p>While Jongho skimmed the book titles for something to gain personal knowledge of, he also snatched some decorative statue of an airship. His bag was getting full already, and while he would have liked to find a lost bag of coins, he doubted that luck would be on his side in that regard.</p><p>At once, voices got loud outside. Jongho froze immediately at the two males he could hear outside of the door. The walls here were too thick for him to make out their footsteps, but he figured they might be coming closer.</p><p>At the speed of lightning, Jongho raced through the room to the only other door that was hidden between two massive bookshelves. Jongho guessed it might lead to a study or archive that was most likely empty at the moment. Without hesitation, he ran right in.</p><p>As soon as he had pushed the heavy wood shut, he stood there with one ear pressed against the material. In case they came in there, he would have to jump through a window and hope for his gadgets to catch him without snapping his ankles.</p><p>Jongho's heart erratically beat in his chest as he waited. Every muscle in his body tensed with anxiety when he heard the door to the library open. If they noticed the missing items and alarmed the castle, he and Mingi would be screwed.</p><p>"I can help you search if you so desire, Milord." The voice belonged to an older male as Jongho guessed, and by speaking of a lord, Mingi's earlier prediction must have come true.</p><p>"Oh no, I will be fine. I left it right by the window." Quick steps sounded that came dangerously close to the door and had Jongho clench his hands to fists nervously. They halted near the window, and then a low hum sounded.</p><p>When the steps were abruptly right in front of the door, Jongho moved back even further into the shadows, his breathing flat. He was scared of bumping into an item and exposing himself. His nails dug into his skin hard.</p><p>A hand rapped against the door.</p><p>"Yeosang, I found the book I told you about earlier. Do you want it today?"</p><p>The voice was quiet enough to relieve Jongho of his fear of being exposed, but at the same time his mind reeled at the danger of somebody coming inside.</p><p>He startled out of his skin when a small voice behind him answered.</p><p>"No, I'm already half asleep. See you tomorrow."</p><p>Jongho whipped his head towards the darkness of the room that he had mistaken for a study. His eyes strained to make out the shape of a bed in the room and also found a lump beneath the blankets that were faintly lit by the moon outside the window. </p><p>"Alright. Good night."</p><p>"Good night, Seonghwa."</p><p>With that, the steps retreated. Jongho allowed himself to breathe only when the door to the library had closed. Yet, he stood frozen in place and observed the bed.</p><p>The blanket moved back a bit from the person that hid underneath it, and a head of messy blonde curls appeared shyly behind the fabric. From big eyes, the man stared at Jongho who stared back just as confusedly.</p><p>He had not been ratted out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Librarian</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongho was arguably terrified.</p><p>With no clue how he could have been naive enough to run into a random room and think of himself as alone in there, he stayed frozen right where he was. His eyes flickered between the boy in the bed and the window on the other side of the room.</p><p>"Who are you?"</p><p>The voice addressing Jongho was quiet and deep enough not to be considered boyish anymore. Jongho had yet to fathom why a boy lived in a room that would normally be used as a dusty archive.</p><p>Without a word, Jongho crossed the chamber. He stayed clear of the door leading to the library in case the crown prince still wandered about, and instead focused his determination on the window. He could still meet Mingi from the outside.</p><p>However, before he could reach the escape route, the white blankets rustled when the boy sat up. His earlier fear of Jongho seemed to have eased since he didn't hesitate to speak up. It was mildly alarming how unfazed he was.</p><p>"Wait! Don't go yet! I never had someone break in here before!"</p><p>Jongho couldn't help himself. He scoffed disbelievingly at those words, but he did slow down. The man had protected him just now, so he at least had the sense to listen. As crooked and broken as Zey's people were, Jongho tried to hold up some morals for himself. And that meant to pay back favours. He could not deny his intrigue with the peculiar reaction his breaking and entering had warranted.</p><p>When the man spotted Jongho falter, he cautiously crawled over to his nightstand. His eyes didn't leave Jongho's masked and hooded figure for even a second as his fingers fumbled with his lamp as if he had to make sure that Jongho didn't jump from his sight.</p><p>After a few mishaps that Jongho watched with pursed lips, a faint blue glow lit up the room. Nethicite energy cursed through the round and moon-esque lamp that the man possessed. It was a pleasant colour and bathed them in enough light to see without blinding anyone.</p><p>As soon as the oddball of a man got a closer look at Jongho, he gasped softly. Eager eyes slid up and down Jongho's apprehensive posture a few times, and each time, they seemed to get brighter. They carried a nearly child-like excitement at the prospect of having a robber inside his room, and Jongho arched a brow at him. He doubted the man even saw it under all components of his masquerade,</p><p>"You're from Zey, aren't you? That's so cool!"</p><p>Was he making fun of him? Unsure, Jongho just narrowed his eyes. In his opinion, that was enough of a threat to make the guy back down, but it seemed as if he was wired differently.</p><p>Jongho didn't expect the man to scramble across the bed and nearly get stuck in his white sleeping gown as he reached for what appeared to be a diary and a pen. With no clue what to expect, Jongho awaited his judgement.</p><p>It came with the blonde boy shifting until he sat comfortably cross-legged and looking up at Jongho expectantly. A shy smile curled around his lips.</p><p>"Do you have some time? I would like to exchange my help just now for information."</p><p>Jongho blanked for a second. He quickly collected his wits, so it didn't get awkward, but shock laced his words anyway.</p><p>"Information?"</p><p>The man nodded enthusiastically - causing his hair to flop around wildly - before sinking down between his shoulders immediately. His hand rose to scratch at his neck timidly.</p><p>"You see... I want to know about Zey, and you are from there! I won't tell anybody that you snatched a few things, so please?" A pallid blue hue illuminated the tips of his hair. The colour complimented his light skin tone and soft appearance that seemed to be a crass opposite of Jongho himself.</p><p>At once, the mechanic felt incredibly dirty. He was not supposed to be here in this prim and proper place and converse with somebody who lived here. They would only ridicule and pity him for who he was.</p><p>His bitter side told Jongho to refuse and bring as much distance between him and any selfish person in Asora. They would only fight if he tried to find a place here.</p><p>However, he owed the man something. And if it were as easy as answers, he would give him just that and then scramble.</p><p>Jongho stiffly crossed his arms in front of his chest.</p><p>"Fine. I have a few minutes to spare."</p><p>Relieved, the man nodded more often than necessary before he patted his bed in an appropriate distance from himself. The invitation was written on his face.</p><p>Uncomfortable, Jongho looked between the guy and his risky offer. Jongho had yet to decide whether he was very confident or extremely stupid.</p><p>"I'm dirty."</p><p>"I don't mind. Sit down."</p><p>Jongho stiffly perched at the very edge of the bed. He tried to ignore the discomfort he felt at his curious eyes that scrutinised his gadgets with amazement. Inwardly he prayed that the man wouldn't cross the boundary of asking whether he was allowed to touch them. For now, he didn't, as he pulled his little book in his lap and stared at Jongho with his pen poised.</p><p>"Will you tell me your name?"</p><p>"No. We won't see each other again after today."</p><p>The boy pouted at him, and his lower lip jutted out like that of a stubborn kid as he did. Jongho was irritated.</p><p>"Fine. I'm Yeosang, though, and I'm happy to meet you. So, westsider, you grew up in Zey?" Yeosang started his interrogation off easily.</p><p>Jongho tried to relax, but he couldn't stop his hands from playing nervously with the metal of his leg supporting devices. He repeatedly tapped the shiny brass plates and withheld the need to nudge his finger against the little cogs underneath.</p><p>"I did. I spent every second of my life there." It was weird to explain a concept that was so familiar to Jongho to somebody who had not a clue about it. Mediating the exact acrimony that Jongho felt about his home didn't sit right with him. This person who lived in the palace could hardly relate.</p><p>"How is it? Is it as dark and outlawed as the books say?"</p><p>Careful, Jongho nodded. Yeosang hurriedly took a few notes.</p><p>"Do you dislike it?"</p><p>Jongho pondered the question. He could not disagree, but neither was a yes at the correct place here. Naturally, agreeing seemed like the logical thing to do, but since Jongho couldn't be sure if it were better anywhere else, it seemed wrong to deny his home. He disliked Asora with a passion, so where if not there would he be? He knew nothing else.</p><p>"Can't say. It's my home, so I see it as such," Jongho retorted instead. It was a lame reply, but it seemed to be enough for the interested palace boy. His veiny hand flew over the paper as he scribbled.</p><p>Jongho idly looked around his bare room. He found some notes and papers strewn over his desk. They were topped by an empty platter that still smelled of food faintly. Against the wall next to the desk, a violin had found its place, which was already about it. A book was the only other item that rested on the man's nightstand.</p><p>It looked oddly empty and shabby for a noble chamber. Once more, Jongho wondered how the man had found this place for himself. It seemed as if at least the prince knew and approved of it.</p><p>"I see. How do you feel about Asora? And the royal family?"</p><p>His questions were poised directly and made Jongho challenge his motivations once more. From how the guy acted, any reason to distrust him seemed valid.</p><p>"How much impact does this question have on your judgement whether to tell the guards about me or not?"</p><p>Yeosang looked surprised for a moment before he hastily declared his innocence. Both of his hands rose defensively to support his case. The pen in his hand nearly tumbled down into his lap, but he caught it in the last moment.</p><p>Awkwardly, they exchanged gazes.</p><p>Yeosang cleared his throat.</p><p>"It doesn't. I won't snitch on somebody who helped me."</p><p>His eyes were incredibly trusting and open as he regarded Jongho. Perplexed, the mechanic turned his head away from him.</p><p>"I hate both. Asora and the royals. They ditched Zey at a dark hour, and many people there feel furious about that. People like me who abused the royals' existence to steal stuff." Jongho managed a grim smile. With a frown etched into his forehead, the other boy continued to write.</p><p>"What else?"</p><p>Jongho pondered for a while. There were so many little things in his life that greatly inconvenienced or worried him. The amount of work, the diseases that lurked around every corner, and the air.</p><p>But all those were things that defined Zey, things the people had accustomed to. They had nothing to do with the royal family themselves.</p><p>"The automatons. The curfew. The ban on trade. Forbidding us to cross. You people- Asora's people all do that to other people. You don't mind these facts, but they make our messy lives all the harder."</p><p>Yeosang looked up from his notes. Jongho sharply regarded the surprise in his eyes.</p><p>"They are that bad? Don't they protect the city from crimes? Our teachers say that it's dangerous over there without them."</p><p>Jongho didn't know whether to laugh or hate the man for his ignorance. There was no way that somebody in the heart of the kingdom, in the very palace, didn't know about the true intentions behind the surveillance. They didn't help; they weeded out the people that didn't fit their system. And yet, they viewed every citizen of Zey with contempt after holding them in the places they had forced them in.</p><p>"I think I should leave. I don't want to risk getting found by anyone else but you." Jongho rose from the bed and pulled his bag against his side protectively.</p><p>Yeosang looked lost. The need to protest showed on his face, but he was wise enough not to speak up. Maybe he noticed that he had struck a nerve. At least he was that smart.</p><p>"I understand. But- Ah, I shouldn't ask that of you. Still, please consider coming back."</p><p>Jongho's eyes were popping out of his head from shock. While he still smoothed out his expression, his mind already reeled with the little knowledge that this guy had over the Chasm. What did they teach to the palace people? A servant, from the looks of it. Jongho suspected he might be the librarian. He had too little general idea of their surroundings.</p><p>"Here? It's dangerous."</p><p>"I won't tell them! If you promise to come back to tell me more, I will collect a few things you can sell! Like that, it's not in vain..."</p><p>Jongho disbelievingly shook his head.</p><p>"Farewell, airhead. Your stack is smoking, but gears don't turn. Fix that, if you want to understand the people in Zey."</p><p>Curious, Yeosang titled his head. The gesture conveyed innocence and wonder, but Jongho just sighed once more.</p><p>"I don't understand."</p><p>"You don't have to." With those words, Jongho opened the window and threw a glance down in the gardens underneath. Everything looked peaceful, and no guard was in sight.</p><p>He cradled his bag close and jumped. From his peripherals, a movement from the bed followed him, but the man was too slow. Jongho was gone before he could reach for him.</p><p>The gear on Jongho's right leg smoothed out the weight of gravity catching up with him. As it cushioned his movement and kept him from bending too far, steam rose from the sides with a hiss. As soon as he stood, Jongho took off running.</p><p>The odd encounter with the boy living in the archive had thrown him off. Jongho wondered if he had said too much and what the man would do with his newly acquired information. Would it actually help anyone? Jongho doubted it.</p><p>He found the proposal to come back all the more quizzical. Even if Yeosang hadn't known about the dangers of the canyon, just why would he put that amount of trust in a complete stranger that he had caught stealing in his very home? If the decision not to snitch on him had been foolish, then asking Jongho to come back was downright silly.</p><p>With his mind crossed like a riddle, Jongho looked around the corner to round the building. The door that he and Mingi had used as an entrance was near. After a second of hiding behind a row of thick bushes while the soldiers passed, Jongho darted through it.</p><p>He tried to blend with a corner as he waited for Mingi to return. After today, Jongho just wanted to go home and make sure that his father was taken care of.</p><p>The weird librarian would fare well on his own.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Music Bunny</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mingi and Jongho returned safely before morning dawned. With by now practised confidence, they returned to the canyon and Mingi brought them back over via his grappling gun. Jongho wasn't too tired yet, but his mind was still preoccupied with the odd boy he had met in the castle. Thus, as soon as he was safely back in Zey, he relaxed his muscles for seemingly the first time in the whole night.</p><p>At his sigh, Mingi threw him an empathetic smirk.</p><p>"You can stay until the curfew is over. I will do some work."</p><p>Jongho appreciated his help. He had worked with a bunch of other people before, and none was as compassionate and patient as Mingi had been. He didn't pry into Jongho's private business, and he even offered him some more of his bitter tea after he had settled in the corner of the room. Jongho accepted the kindness with a small smile.</p><p>For a while, they shared the silence while the needle on the clock slowly inched further towards eight. By the time that it was safe for Jongho to go, Mingi was napping on the desk. He had barely finished unpacking his things before his lids had fluttered shut, and Jongho found it amusing. Yet, Mingi kept reminding him of Yunho in the most painful of ways. Yunho had always been too trusting, also.</p><p>As much as Jongho hoped to sneak out without waking his snoring companion, he needed Mingi to close the hatch behind Jongho safely. Thus, he woke the man with gentle nudges. Mingi blinked disoriented for a moment before he understood.</p><p>"Ah, time for you to leave! I must say I had a good time with you. No hassle to deal with." He snatched his keys and led Jongho back through the tunnel they had come through.</p><p>"I agree. Thank you for being a decent human being."</p><p>Mingi's laughter burst out of his chest with no buildup. He went from a neutral expression to a happy grin within the blink of an eye. Much lighter than his speaking voice, his giggles echoed through the tunnel.</p><p>"I guess that's something we need to thank each other for in a place like this."</p><p>Jongho chuckled into his mask. Zey was like that. Helping someone got you into your grave, but sometimes, meeting people in work-centred circumstances could lead to jobs well done.</p><p>Before Jongho left the house, he and Mingi shook hands for one last time. Jongho made sure to memorise the tall man with the hair as red as fire and a long coat that swished behind him. Then, he was already on his way again.</p><p>The sun crawled over the far horizon and bathed Asora in gleaming white light. Jongho watched the blinding crenellations on each, and every house reflected a whole rainbow of colours that pained his eyes to look at. Zey was still bathed in the cold shadows of the night as he travelled over the roofs back to his frequented spots.</p><p>While Zey fell back into the full bustle routine, Jongho successfully handed the fuse over to Youjin's boss and received his payment in return. The man suggested that Jongho take jobs with Mingi in Asora more often from now on, but Jongho made no promises. The canyon was a dangerous thing to play with, and if Jongho was gone, who would look after his father? He preferred a sense of safety.</p><p>After searching through the shady alleys, Jongho also discovered a merchant willing to rid him of his fancy vase. All through their deal, he rambled about some city far in the north that had a grand interest in items such as this one. Jongho had watched him with crossed arms when the man had been bold enough to throw in a few winks after mentioning that they were usually reserved for the royal family.</p><p>When he had finally haggled up the price enough for his liking, Jongho left with his bags full. Once he rid himself of anything vaguely related to the palace, he returned to the usual ease he crossed Zey with.</p><p>He visited the apothecary to get new medicine for his father. Then, he bought them a meal before he returned home after a long time on his toes.</p><p>This time, his father was up when Jongho came home. He knelt on the ground next to the boiler with the music bunny perched in his lap. It hummed a melody that Jongho distinctly connected with his mother. His dad had a serene smile on his face while he watched the little metal creature play its song. From how thin his wrists and hollow his cheeks looked, Jongho nearly turned on his heel to get more food for him.</p><p>However, his father spotted him first. He tiredly rose his head from the wall and smiled brightly at Jongho's broad frame that barely found space in the narrow doorframe.</p><p>"Oh, you came home! How have you been, Yunho?"</p><p>Jongho barely flinched at the mistake. He merely put his bag down and began filling up the medicine in the little box they used for it. His fingers were steady even when exhaustion crept behind his eyes and made his lids heavy.</p><p>"I'm Jongho."</p><p>With a trembling smile, his father shook his head. His bony fingers weakly rose to stretch towards Jongho's direction.</p><p>"I missed you dearly, son. Your mother and brother will be back soon, I promise. Jongho is still around somewhere and probably working hard as we are speaking. And your mom- It has been some time, but she will return." His voice was scratchy in his throat. To ease his desperate attempts at getting closer, Jongho brought him something to drink while he waited for the tea to finish.</p><p>"Go to bed, dad. You need to rest."</p><p>"No, Yunho, I missed you. Let's talk. They should never have taken you away from us."</p><p>Jongho swallowed around the lump that formed in his throat. Judging from his breaking voice, his old father had teared up, and it only fuelled the pain in Jongho's heart.</p><p>He didn't mind being mistaken for his brother. But he ached whenever he came up in conversations. There was no one around but him to aid his father's yearning to see his older son again.</p><p>Jongho put the medicine on his father's nightstand before he collected him from the floor. His father's old body weighed barely anything as he clung onto Jongho and mumbled teary confessions of how sorry he was and how much he missed Yunho in his chest.</p><p>With a bit of conviction, Jongho managed to get him back under the covers. For now, he needed to stay and hold the man's hand, or else he would throw a fit.</p><p>Jongho was tired. It was all the same. Sometimes, his sorrowful heart timidly asked him to give up already. Deep down, he knew that there was no remedy for his father. It was not his body that was sick; it was his loss-saddened mind. A mind that wasn't strong enough to keep him alive.</p><p>But Jongho was too stubborn to let go of his last family member. He would hold onto his father for as long as he could, no matter the doubts. If it meant to listen to Yunho's story countless times, then he would.</p><p>"How is the war going? Did we win? Did Asora win?"</p><p>Jongho lowered his eyes as he held his father's hand. It was soft and wrinkly, but his grip was intense for his condition. Closing his heart away, for now, Jongho gently ran his fingers over his father's skin.</p><p>"No, we didn't. When they asked me to join the army, they already knew that it was in vain. Hence they asked Zey's people, not their own."</p><p>A deep frown appeared on his dad's forehead. Jongho handed him his tea and medicine so he would be busy with that while he talked. Crazed eyes flickered left and right.</p><p>"Those bastards deserve to rot in hell for this. They killed you, Yunho. You and your poor mother."</p><p>Jongho closed his eyes to will back his emotions. All the anger and sadness had no place here. It had been three years. Yunho wouldn't come back, and his mother's ashes were scattered in the wind after she had died of grief. The news of Asora's defeat had shaken them all up. Jongho's father had not been the same ever since, and Jongho still suffered quietly from the bereavement of his dear brother, too.</p><p>"Yeah, they do," Jongho just mumbled. A migraine was finding its way inside his skull from staying up all night.</p><p>"If I weren't in such bad condition, I would get back at that damn king. I would kill his firstborn just how he did to mine."</p><p>Jongho startled at the malice in his father's voice. It was not the first time he wanted revenge, but it was the first time for him to target Prince Seonghwa rather than the Undying himself.</p><p>"He lived for too long. Two hundred years... How many people did he kill in that time? How many more sons will he take from their parents?" Without any strength left in his arms, Jongho's father tried to get up. Jongho pushed him back gently and held him through his angry spasms and curses.</p><p>"Outlive him, hm? Show us all how much better of a person you can be at the same time." Jongho tried to bite back his tears as he spoke around his wobbly lower lip. His father was so weak and thin under his fingers. Jongho could feel every single one of his ribs underneath their tips.</p><p>He would not give up his father, as long as he could. Years ago, after the death of his mother, Jongho had sworn to do anything in his might to protect him. It kept him going, too. The tireless task kept him sane.</p><p>"Back in the day, Yunho, when Asorazey was still one... Before he became king..."</p><p>Jongho gently shushed him and pried the mug from his hands as soon as he finished drinking his medicine.</p><p>"I know. You told me."</p><p>With his resistance weakening, his old father allowed himself to get pushed into the sheets. Jongho tucked the blanket around him neatly. He would also go to bed soon, but he needed some distance first. As soon as both of them had calmed down again, he would return.</p><p>"I just want the city to reunite... No one would have to go to war then. And Jongho wouldn't suffer so much."</p><p>Jongho nearly choked on his guilt. He had hoped his father didn't notice, but here he was, ranting to the projection of Yunho that his mind conjured. How had he been so obvious?</p><p>"I'm not. I'm fine, dad."</p><p>"No, son... No, you aren't." With a secretive smile that had sadness pull on it, the man finally settled. Soon, his breathing evened out as exhaustion took him back in sleep's soothing embrace.</p><p>Jongho knelt next to the bed for a few minutes as he regained his bearings. With his weakened state of mind, the reminder of the past had cut even deeper into Jongho's heart than it usually would. It took him a while until his chest stopped to hurt at every breath he took.</p><p>When he felt in control of his body again, he quietly rose. He stashed the medicine box back in the cupboard and brought the music bunny over to his father. Its singing calmed both of them while Jongho got ready for bed. He didn't mind sleeping during the day; their home was dark at all the time anyway.</p><p>As he settled next to his father and curled up, he felt like a child again. Back when he was little and scared of the dark or thunder, Yunho had often come to soothe him. In his brother's strong arms was the safest place in the world, in Jongho's opinion. This time, no one came to soothe him even as he shook and trembled before he fell asleep.</p><p>There was nobody left to watch out for him. As his father had said, Asora had taken everything from them.</p><p>By the time that sleep finally settled on Jongho like a merciful blanket, he accepted its depth all too easily.</p><p>He just wanted to forget.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Meater</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With unflinching concentration, Jongho twisted the little screw into place. The gadget sleeve on his left arm hissed quietly as it governed the strength he used and balanced the natural jerkiness of nerves. Jongho finished with the first bolt and adjusted the pressure on his arm for the next one.</p><p>Ever since he had returned from work earlier that evening, he tinkered with an additional device for his arm. He needed it to include a grappling function, just like the one that Mingi used as a shooting device. If he added a little bag with a rope over one shoulder and combined it with the machines, then he would be able to shoot a hook similar to Mingi's. It would come in handy for multiple things, not only to cross the Chasm.</p><p>His dad was still deeply asleep in the bed behind Jongho. The medicines had successfully fogged up his mind to the point of him getting some of his well-deserved rest. It was a relief for Jongho to guard him as he slept and to avoid difficult conversations, too.</p><p>While Jongho was busy fiddling with the mechanics on his working bench, his mind kept drifting back to his trip to Asora. The city had left a mighty impression on him, and Jongho still found some things he hadn't thought about before that sounded intriguing to him now. The sheer lack of automatons and the nethicite energies were most likely the most fascinating. His mechanic soul yearned to use the powerful material in his devices.</p><p>His mind also wandered back to his encounter in the library often. Not only had he been just a mere door away from the greatly praised prince, but he had also met the peculiar character that Yeosang was. Yeosang with his reckless curiosity.</p><p>Jongho wondered if the man had told anyone about their meeting. Where would the information that Jongho had delivered for him end up? He didn't know. Yeosang had not bothered to tell him either.</p><p>With a tiny click, another cog slid into place. Satisfaction welled up in Jongho's chest as he regarded the beginnings to what he considered a great tool. If he ever saw Mingi again, he would have to thank the man.</p><p>Jongho took a short break to sip some cold tea and stretch his back. It protested from the weird position and the strain the slanted chair put on his spine.</p><p>The music bunny's soft tunes played in the background as it hopefully brought sweet dreams to Jongho's father. To revel in it, Jongho allowed himself to close his tired eyes for a moment.</p><p>He was supposed to meet with another client tomorrow and get a delivery within Zey done. While his employer had not specified why Jongho had to go together with another person, he would not complain. As long as that guy would cause no trouble, he would concede.</p><p>With another crack of his spine and gulp of his tea, Jongho went back to work. The hours ticked by as his nimble fingers worked away. He might not finish the gadget tonight, but any work done sooner meant more rest later.</p><p>-</p><p>The gentleman that was supposed to work with Jongho was a mess of a man.</p><p>He got shot at by the automatons twice, and while none of the pneumatic missiles hit him, the commotion it caused was enough to have Jongho's heart skip in his chest. While he had dealt with the deadly automatons before, he preferred to stay completely out of their sight over fleeing from their weapons. His companion, however, dealt differently.</p><p>Jongho's nerves were tense and anxious the whole day long. Whenever the hint of a buzz from machines sounded around a corner, he immediately ushered his companion further from the danger. For his caution, he was called a meater once, but Jongho would rather be considered a meater than dead.</p><p>They arrived after one hell of a trip through Zey's streets, and Jongho's mood was at a low point when the rude fellow still teased him for his mere wish to not get shot.</p><p>He waited outside while the other guy personally handed their mysterious cargo over to the recipient. His spirits were disrupted from the risky hunt through the city, and not even the stray dog that came around to ask for some pets shyly could ease his distress.</p><p>Jongho always reminded himself not to expect too much. The example of Mingi's pleasant acquaintance had spoiled Jongho's standards for Zey's people. Even Yeosang had shown some understanding and care towards him as a stranger in his own home.</p><p>Zey was full of fools that got high off the constant company of death and that embraced danger whenever they could. Jongho was not too different from them since he liked the feeling of being alive it gave him, but in some cases, safety was more important to him. These days, he thought too much about his dad and not leaving him behind to throw his life away brusquely.</p><p>Jongho was still busy with the dog when his coworker came out again. A big grin was etched onto his face as he threw Jongho his share of their reward. Jongho caught it with his left hand.</p><p>"Here, buy yourself something nice. Maybe if you smothered the parrot more often you would be less of a stuffed shirt."</p><p>Jongho just silently glared at him as he snatched the money. Without sparing the guy another glance, he disappeared in the shadows, then. He wasn't responsible for getting him back home, so if the now alert automatons caught him, then that would be his issue to deal with.</p><p>The dog trotted after Jongho for a few minutes before it lost him somewhere between narrow corners. None the wiser, Jongho continued down the street for his next job.</p><p>Zey swallowed him up as if he had never been there. It was easy to disappear in a city that made people disappear all the time. Jongho distracted himself with thoughts about his gadgets on his walk. As he planned out the structure he wished for it to assume by the end, he relaxed more. Machines were easier for him to understand than the blockheadedness of people. Zey was a melting pot of odd personalities, after all.</p><p>Jongho found the way to his other client without any issues. He could take up this job on his own; hence, he was more confident in it already. Of course, there were always the mean thoughts and worries that caught up with him when he was alone, but at least it wasn't a malicious robot that attempted his life.</p><p>By the time that Jongho stepped out from Zey's nameless and wet alleys towards the cliff, the sun was creeping towards the ocean to unite with it. From outside of the down and this side of the land that bordered the ocean he could indulge in the rare sight it offered. The sea far down from the high landscape reflected the last orange beams beautifully.</p><p>It was one of the little joys in Zey, and a sight that Jongho's father had very much appreciated back when he was still able to walk around. From here, Asora and Zey looked incredibly small and unimportant. The skies and oceans were endlessly wide, and Jongho's problems disappeared whenever he took that into consideration.</p><p>As he strolled towards the airship docking area, Jongho allowed himself to breathe some of the fresher air outside the urban area. The poisonous dark cloud of smoke from the factories stuck to Zey's chimneys as if it belonged there. The cliff seemed like luxury compared to the ghetto.</p><p>Deeply impressed and slightly intimidated, Jongho watched the remarkable airships cross the skies above him. They all looked different. Some were classic zeppelins that hid their insides from sight. Others had blimps carrying old-fashioned ship structures that held its cargo and people: some hat oblong balloons, others more round ones. Jongho even sometimes spotted a ship with two of them. He thought those looked particularly cute.</p><p>Once upon a time, Jongho had dreamt about joining an aviation crew. He wanted to sail away over the clouds and work on the machines there. Sadly, he had never had the chance, and his parents had been against it after his brother had been collected for war. By now, he stayed out of his own free will. His father wouldn't be able to live without Jongho.</p><p>Yet, the impression that the mighty machines left on Jongho never lessened. Like huge monsters, the balloons darkened the sky and blew strong winds in the faces of all the people near the docks.</p><p>Coming out here had healing function most of the time so that Jongho couldn't complain about this particular job. It was far better than to run from the trouble that some reckless bastard brought him into.</p><p>Jongho silently rounded a group of gentlemen with tall top hats and walking canes. Zey did better to avert their eyes from such well-dressed people in their grimy slums. If they were lucky, they wouldn't get robbed, at least, but whatever it was that they had come here for, it wasn't in Zey's favour.</p><p>As soon as they had passed, Jongho asked a dock worker for the location of his client. The man pointed him to one of the ships that were still busy unloading. While Jongho made his way over to the mighty aircraft, he watched the people milling around.</p><p>Zey attracted all kinds of crowds. Rich investors interested in their nethicite and workers, tourists, and merchants knew their way around the black market. Sometimes, even air pirates anchored here knowing that they were safe from any law. However, a lot of the people who traded with Zey were people who had once lived here and ended their miserable confinement by joining the skies.</p><p>The man that Jongho met at the docks to get his reward from was also one of those. When he saw Jongho come closer, an understanding smile already spread on his face.</p><p>"Ah, you must be the delivery boy. Greetings."</p><p>"Hi." Jongho halted next to the rough-looking sailor with the raincoat and thick beard that hid his face from the weather. While Jongho searched through his duffle, the man fell into casual small talk.</p><p>"It has been some time since I last anchored here. How's Zey holding up? Is it getting easier on you young lads?"</p><p>Jongho shook his head as he handed the package over. It was discreetly wrapped, but he still shuffled closer to the man to hide it from view as he checked it.</p><p>"Not at all. Check your ship for stowaways later, we're all running."</p><p>The man grunted as he regarded the thing he had received. Jongho was discreet enough not to spy into his business, but he suspected it might relate to tech.</p><p>"Undying's been loud these days. He parades his son around a lot; he might actually step down soon."</p><p>"Will he step down, though, or will he just put on a new face as he reigns?"</p><p>The man wrapped the paper back around his object and let it sink into his bag. Then, he fished for the bag of coins that Jongho deserved.</p><p>"You're a sharp one. Maybe you should consider leaving, too, when you have the option. It's sad to see young minds die of hunger or lung diseases." He handed Jongho the bag and gave him a gentle pat on the chest. Jongho thanked him with a bow of his head. Both of them shared a short silence as Jongho, too, counted his coins. When he was satisfied, he let the bag disappear in his pocket. They exchanged smiles.</p><p>"I'll keep my eyes open. See you around."</p><p>"Aye, take care."</p><p>With that, they parted again. It was an easy deal, and it finished smoothly. Jongho suspected that Zey was really only dangerous for those who didn't belong to their group. Everybody who shared or related to the struggle wouldn't betray another. It was ironic. As much as they all skittered around like rats and threw each other evil eyes, everybody shared each other's pain.</p><p>Offering help was a taboo, but at least they all united against their common enemies.</p><p>Jongho rose his eyes to Asora in the far distance. On its cliff, too, some airships had anchored and floated idly while the merchants exchanged goods. As usual, the city seemed to be bustling with life and development.</p><p>Jongho held back his scoff as he turned to return home. Soon, the automatons from Asora would begin shooting at everything that moved, and he didn't want to be part of that. He bought some food and decided to spend his time back home with his father and clockwork bunny.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Burglar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongho's afternoon consisted of work, as always. There wasn't much time he could spend at home or doing his own things when his jobs kept him busy at any given moment. As soon as one task finished, the next began, and it was an endless circle of business. Like moon and sun, Jongho shifted his gears between resting and working like it was the one thing that nature had decided for man to do.</p><p>It came to no surprise that Zey's inhabitants didn't have a long life expectancy by living with that schedule. Those who decided to get by instead of allowing the city to consume them knew they fought a lonely and futile battle. In the end, either disease or starvation awaited. No one was able to make their fortune with the little work they found, and few got to leave with the airships.</p><p>Jongho, too, only tried to scrape by. He considered himself lucky to have no little siblings that he had to look after besides his father. From what he made with his deliveries, at least the two could live and usually afford medicines.</p><p>Year for year, he fought hard and evaded the escape of retorting to crimes.</p><p>Crimes were not unheard of in Zey. They were the proclaimed main reason for the presence of Asora's automatons. Usually, these crimes either were an act of desperation or developed out of bitterness. In Zey, it was an unspoken law not to rob the others that were off just as bad, but the rich tourists or merchants.</p><p>Sometimes some people considered themselves to be off far worse than anybody else. Their selfishness deceived them into injustice towards their very own kind.</p><p>So when Jongho came home after a long day of work and found the door to their home leant against the frame rather than secured, he had his suspicions. He thumbed the broken hatch of the lock as he pushed the door open. Immediately, his gaze sought for his father.</p><p>In a reminder of a few days prior, his father knelt on the ground with his bony legs on display. They had not a single ounce of fat or muscle that clung to them. Jongho associated the sight with a skeleton that still wore its human skin but had shed itself of everything else.</p><p>By the looks of it, his father was fine. No injuries marred him, and the frown on his face justified a warranted reaction.</p><p>Jongho pushed the door shut behind him and set his duffle down in front of it to keep it closed. He wasn't afraid of intruders as long as he was here, but his father had little options to defend himself. At least, Jongho was confident in his skills to repair the damage until the night.</p><p>His father rose his blood-shot eyes at Jongho. Trouble was written across his features.</p><p>"What happened?" Jongho kept his voice low and calm, albeit wary. Some causality must have occurred for his father to look this bothered by it.</p><p>Sighing, Jongho's father lowered his eyes. His shoulders were hunched as if they carried the weight of the world on it. More than ever, he looked like an old and sick man.</p><p>"I'm sorry, son. I made a mistake."</p><p>With an instant headshake, Jongho sat down next to him. Helpless, he tried to think of a way to reassure his father.</p><p>"I'm sure I can fix it. Tell me what went wrong, please."</p><p>It took them another moment of kneeling on the cold, hard ground until his father spoke up. His trembling form pitifully sagged on the blank stone.</p><p>"A man came in. I was sleeping, so I heard him only after a while and didn't recognise that it wasn't you. He came to steal."</p><p>Relief flooded Jongho. A burglar was bad news, but since he had left Jongho's father alone, his most precious good was still around. Despite that, he listened to the rest of the whispered story.</p><p>"He went after your tools. I know how important those are to you." The hint of a father's smile crossed his wrinkled features. At the little gesture of care, Jongho's heart ached in his chest.</p><p>"I couldn't fend him off; he laughed at me for being too weak. But I managed to scare him by threatening to call the automatons. I never would, of course, they would shoot me too, but it worked. And I attacked him right then."</p><p>Jongho eyed his father up and down carefully. He suspected him of collapsing at any second from hiding a lethal wound for Jongho's sake. When nothing happened, he relaxed once more.</p><p>"But- He stumbled into the cupboard, and- My medicine, it-"</p><p>With a broken hiccup, the man moved his hands from the spot they had hovered over on the ground until now. Jongho had mistaken it as a form of balance when actually they had hidden something from view.</p><p>It was his medicine. The precious powder had spilt all over the floor and mixed with the layer of dirt and grime that they usually couldn't polish. A few shaky scrapes through the white sand gave away the desperate attempts to salvage anything of worth.</p><p>Jongho's heart froze over at the sight of it.</p><p>From how much he had bought after his trip to Asora, it would have lasted his father at least another two weeks. The sad remains in the box were one week at most. Frantically, he recounted his current amount of money in his head.</p><p>"I messed up; it was all my fault. You worked so hard for this, and I ruined it." A throaty sob escaped his father's throat as he hid his face in his trembling hands.</p><p>Jongho cooed at him comfortingly.</p><p>"No, no, it's fine. You defended my tools, that's more important. I can't sell my wares without them. If anybody is to blame, then that bastard of a robber." Jongho rose to offer his father his hand. After furiously wiping his ears, he took it. Guilt etched into his face, so Jongho gave him another reassuring smile.</p><p>"I didn't eat much last week, so I have some savings. I can buy new medicine and take a few more jobs during the night until we have a stable amount again."</p><p>With gentle persuasion, Jongho managed to get his father back into bed. His watery eyes observed his son sharp like a hawk's.</p><p>"You need to eat... Again, if it ever gets too much for you- I would rather have you live with what you have than suffering because of me. I've been nothing more but a useless corpse ever since your mother died."</p><p>Jongho shushed him undeterred.</p><p>"Nonsense. I want you around. Thanks for taking care of my tools. I'll fix the lock, and you can sleep already. We will overcome this, we always do."</p><p>It took him a while to calm his father down. The older man was exhausted and feverish by the time he finally settled. As Jongho grimly went to work, he tried to develop a plan that covered all their expenses and the medicine, too.</p><p>There was one emergency proposition that crept around in his mind.</p><p>It involved meeting with a certain blonde librarian again.</p><p>-</p><p>Mingi opened the door for Jongho after his second knock. He must have awaited his arrival ever since Youjin had hooked them up together once more. When he laid eyes on Jongho's grumpy expression, Mingi's face considerably brightened. His smile was genuine.</p><p>"Come in. I heard there's some trouble?"</p><p>Jongho shuffled in next to the tall man. He swore that he and Yunho were even about the same height. As Mingi led him to his hideout, Jongho reconsidered his plea once more.</p><p>He hadn't told Mingi about Yeosang's proposal. Since the promise had been directed at Jongho only, he didn't want to abuse it or get Mingi's hopes up. Yet, to explain his dilemma, he had resolved his trust in Mingi. The red-haired giant seemed confidable to Jongho.</p><p>While inside Mingi's dimly lit home, Jongho stripped his mask off. Without it, he felt more sincere to ask Mingi for a favour.</p><p>"Yeah. See, I need money. And after last time in Asora, I had lots of it."</p><p>Without asking, Mingi started to brew them some tea. Jongho waited politely at the table.</p><p>"Did you get another job over there? I don't need to go this time." Mingi's low voice rumbled pleasantly in the room. The boiler hummed and whirred as he cranked it up.</p><p>"No. I want to go there out of my own free will. I won't be able to scrape enough together if I don't." Then, Jongho told Mingi about Yeosang. He recounted the kind and fairly unequable bargain the boy had offered Jongho and the way he contemplated to take him up on it now. All while he talked, Mingi merely nodded or hummed from time to time.</p><p>"I know that I can't trust him to keep his word. But I'm desperate, and since he kept his promise last time, I might take him up on the offer."</p><p>After his story ended, Mingi mulled it over in his head. The tea slowly soaked in the water.</p><p>"You aren't to blame. In Asora, too, some kind souls are very understanding of our predicament. Since you already made your decision, I am willing to offer my help for a price. I know that you won't abuse it."</p><p>Jongho thought of Yunho. Dear trusting Yunho.</p><p>"Deal. I will make it worth your time and effort if you bring me back to that place."</p><p>Mingi's smile was broad enough to illuminate the room. One of his front teeth was crooked a bit and gave him an adorable little hint of childishness. His features were nothing like Yunho's. Mingi was sharp and angular where Yunho was soft and smooth. Yet, the semblance between the two was cunning.</p><p>"Then I will bring you over soon. Want some tea?"</p><p>Jongho agreed with a warm smile. Drinking bitter tea in Mingi's hideout's secludedness was one of the best ways to spend time in Zey. As soon as he received his mug, he wrapped his gloved fingers around it to warm them a bit.</p><p>The steam from the tea fogged up the goggles that hung around the Mingi's neck.</p><p>"Maybe I should spend my time to commit espionage in the palace anyway. Some rumours are going around about the royal family that I would like to confirm."</p><p>Jongho sipped on his tea. By now, darkness must have fallen over Zey and wrapped the city in a shroud of unknown dangers. He drank tea with Mingi while countless people disappeared in the night when the automatons went on their deadly hunt.</p><p>If he searched the deepest archives of the palace, would Jongho find a blueprint for these things? If he were to take a few of them apart, he might be able to ease his life at least a little bit.</p><p>"What kind of rumours?"</p><p>Mingi stared into his cup as if it held the secrets of the world. Jongho only saw its reddish-brown colour that reminded him of brass.</p><p>"Too many good ones. People talk about Prince Seonghwa taking his father's stead a lot these days. They praise him as the bringer of new hope and clarity in the whole of Asorazey. I wonder what is going on. Is he really going to take the throne? Why would the Undying step down now after so many years?"</p><p>Jongho was intrigued, also. The topic had come up in several of his conversations for the past few weeks, and it had all the people on edge. Zey foolishly yearned for better living conditions, and Asora celebrated their popular prince growing up. While Jongho wasn't as interested in politics like others, it certainly had his attention, too.</p><p>It was the king's first son, after all.</p><p>In two hundred years of reign, the Undying hadn't managed to produce even a single child. Jongho guessed it was because fate was either furious at him for defying death, or at Zey's people as it kept him as their ruler.</p><p>"I guess you can find out as we are over there. There will probably be some people willing to talk loud enough for you to eavesdrop."</p><p>Mingi chuckled around the last gulps of his tea. He had drunken it way faster and steaming hot. Jongho worried about his sense of touch.</p><p>"I wouldn't be surprised if some of their noble asses yelled the news over the canyon." He put his mug down on the table and rolled up the sleeves of his green shirt until they matched Jongho's. As he slipped his mask into place - and he had one that reached around his ears, not just a makeshift shawl that Jongho used - his eyes were full of mirth.</p><p>"Are you ready to go, then? It seems as if we have some interesting discoveries to make."</p><p>Jongho slightly burnt his tongue as he emptied his mug. He didn't flinch.</p><p>"Yeah, let's go."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Tales about Zey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"What do you need the money for, if I may ask? Are you planning on a big project?"</p><p>Mingi's hands in their fingerless gloves worked tirelessly on the ropes and hooks strewn around. While he set up everything, Jongho merely lurked by the door to the canyon and held it open for him. For a moment, the paranoia about telling Mingi the truth hit him. He changed his mind soon, though. After all the help he granted Jongho - including traversing over the dangerous Chasm once more - he qualified for faith.</p><p>"My father struggles with sickness. He needs expensive medicine."</p><p>Mingi hummed thoughtfully and knotted up a rope so fast that Jongho barely captured the movement of his hands. Cold seeped into the hideout from the gaping abyss outside.</p><p>"So you're a good guy who cares for his family? They must appreciate it."</p><p>Jongho frowned. While he recognised that he worked hard, he was also keenly aware of the trouble he couldn't protect his father from. In the months he laboured twice as hard as usual to support their home and his father's sickness, his father had barely recovered. Restricted day by day, weakness and disease ate away at him. Jongho blamed his disability to offer any comfort.</p><p>"I try my best, but Zey summons misery. How about you? Anybody at home to look out for?" When prompted, Jongho acted as a rack for the ropes while Mingi worked around him. All the while, he kept an appropriate distance from Jongho even if his demeanour remained friendly.</p><p>"A bunch of siblings and my parents, yeah. But they all slave away, too, except for the youngest two, so we support each other."</p><p>So Mingi was an older brother, too. Hence the similarities to Yunho.</p><p>"I have a sister in your age. One older brother, too. The other five are younger."</p><p>That accounted for a whole lot of siblings. Large families were a norm in Zey, and if they all survived, then at least the family wouldn't have to compromise the worst sides of poverty. Jongho couldn't imagine how it must be for them. Having so many people around coincided with a lot of stress to him.</p><p>Yet, Mingi's voice carried fondness. Jongho didn't doubt that his family was precious to him. Families were one of the little joys that Zey possessed.</p><p>"I had a brother who died in the war. Mom died of grief."</p><p>Mingi shot his hook into the wall. With a crunch, it got stuck in the rough stone. After a careful pull, Mingi fixed the rope to the wall. Jongho deemed it easy. Maybe he acquired the technique for it in the future.</p><p>"What was he like? Your brother?"</p><p>Mingi collected his bag and motioned Jongho to proceed already while he paused. As Jongho and his gadgets climbed over, memories of Yunho's brightly smiling face flooded his mind. Sad, he smiled as well.</p><p>"A content man. Some people criticised his happiness. I found Zey to be a much brighter place while he was around. He loved life and even the bad sides of Zey."</p><p>Jongho's smile felt waxy on his face. The corners of his lips twitched as if they tried to fight his joy. His memories of Yunho were all accompanied by a melancholic sense of longing. He missed his brother dearly.</p><p>"And then that spark became extinct when he died... I see how it is. I would have loved to meet him. People with that much happiness to share are rare in Zey."</p><p>Jongho grunted approvingly as he grabbed onto the stones and pulled himself up. His gloves dug into the wall.</p><p>"I bet he would have adored your siblings, especially the younger ones." Jongho's voice was hollow in the depth of the canyon. It echoed slightly underneath them and caused shivers to run down his spine.</p><p>Mingi left it at that while they busied themselves with climbing. Both were intensely focused on the wall above them and didn't bother to look down into the black nothingness underneath. Where could it possibly end? If somebody fell, it was either dying of the rocks peeling one's skin from their bodies or hitting the small steam of water with its deadly torrents that probably marked the end.</p><p>Neither of those options sounded particularly inviting.</p><p>Jongho felt slightly numb by the time he scaled the edge of the cliff. As he rolled into safety, he willed his muscles to unclench after they had tensed from the fear of climbing. Whilst Jongho was not afraid of heights, his rational mind threatened him with the anxiety of falling anyway.</p><p>In the few moments it took for him to calm down, Mingi spied out the route into the dark city. Jongho appreciated his patience and used it to boost up his confidence once more.</p><p>As he stumbled to his feet, he nodded Mingi to lead the way.</p><p>-</p><p>Yeosang's reaction to identifying Jongho again quite amused him.</p><p>He and Mingi had parted along the way, and Mingi had disappeared into the main palace building. At his irregular amount of promises to take care, Jongho had just risen his eyebrow and challenged him to return in one piece. Then, he had sneaked off towards the marvellous staircase and right into the empty library.</p><p>This time, he knocked on Yeosang's door before he burst in rudely. The room represented absolute silence for a second, but when he carefully knocked again, a groggy hum sounded.</p><p>"Hwa?"</p><p>Yeosang's voice at night was husky and riddled with sleep. When Jongho didn't reply for several seconds, the soft patter of feet on the ground approached the door. Jongho scrutinised at the passage to the library. It remained shut.</p><p>Yeosang opened his door with a verve that blew back some of his messy locks. Fascinated, Jongho stared at the funny bird's nest they formed atop his head.</p><p>After a second of confused blinking and awkward stares, Yeosang's mouth dropped open. The surprise overtook all across his features but again - and this was getting worrisome - he lacked fear. Instead, his eyes took on a playful glint as soon as he recognised Jongho.</p><p>"Oh, the westsider! You came back!"</p><p>Jongho winced at his volume. The man's voice resounded in the high library that connected too closely to the main corridor in Jongho's opinion.</p><p>Thus, with a shushing sound, he rose his hand to press over Yeosang's lips. He didn't mind the man's wide eyes and the fact that he probably tasted dirt on his gloves. Instead, he shoved the man back into his dark room and shut the door behind him.</p><p>Only when he deemed the two of them safe, he stepped back with a heartfelt sigh.</p><p>Entering the palace was a nerve-racking endeavour. He had to ensure it wouldn't become a habit.</p><p>"You came back," Yeosang repeated much quieter. Remorse manifested on his dimly lit face. Surprisingly, this room had no curtains despite being part of the palace. Jongho didn't care enough about the odd aspect to ask.</p><p>"Yeah. Turn on the light; I have things to talk about."</p><p>Yeosang excitedly shuffled through the room only to halt in front of his lamp. While he stood still, tense silence enveloped the two of them.</p><p>"I broke the light actually. I couldn't fix it."</p><p>Awkward, the tension in the room thickened. With a grunt, Jongho held out his hand.</p><p>"Hand it over."</p><p>As Yeosang scrambled to obey, Jongho watched his silhouette in the dark curiously. The man seemed more hectic than last time, probably due to the sudden appearance of Jongho. He nearly knocked a bottle of water over as he hastily thrust his moon lamp into Jongho's arms. The mechanic cradled it with more care.</p><p>As he sought for a spot underneath the window to examine the damage, Yeosang already shifted again. His nervousness wafted off him in waves and ticked off Jongho's sensitive nerves.</p><p>"Sit down and ask me something, dear god. The fumbling is horrible," Jongho gruffly mumbled under his breath.</p><p>Like a zap of lightning, Yeosang planted his body on the foot of the bed that bordered the window and inspected Jongho from big eyes.</p><p>"How have you been?"</p><p>It was an odd first question to ask a stranger, but Jongho humoured him. He yanked a screwdriver from his belt and poked it at the oddly joined wires inside the moon. Irked from the mess that Yeosang had clearly created himself, he answered briefly.</p><p>"Working and getting by. I came back because I needed to hold you to your word." With a low curse slipping from his lips, Jongho pried two wires apart that had gotten stuck with each other.</p><p>Yeosang had fiddled around with the thing with no concept what he was doing. If anything, he had worsened the state of the poor moon.</p><p>"I see. I hoped you would. Since last time, I found quite a few things that I can gift you. Nobody will miss them." Yeosang giggled into his hand. A tint of evilness blended into his voice, and it had Jongho chuckle.</p><p>"Good." Jongho pushed all things into their correct place finally. Like a beacon, the moon lit up and blinded him for a second. Blinking, he handed it back.</p><p>With a little 'thanks', Yeosang positioned his lamp next to his body on the bed. While he scurried around the room to gather his things, Jongho sat down on the sole chair.</p><p>"So... See, since you came back, I'll explain better this time. I'm writing a book."</p><p>Jongho tilted his head. He had never considered writing a book before, but it suited the librarian. His concentrated expression pinched in the way that Jongho had spotted writers do.</p><p>"In this book, a person growing up in a city like Asora moves to a new town. He runs into some trouble and ends up living in similar dire circumstances as Zey does."</p><p>He explained his plot slowly and with the insecurity of an artist unsure if his mind was understood. Jongho nodded along. The more he easily accepted the tale; the more Yeosang dropped his taut shoulders.</p><p>"So since I want to explain his new surroundings well, I write along with the example of Zey. But since I never left Asora..." He trailed off.</p><p>Jongho lacked ideas about writing books and doing research. Frankly, the reason behind Yeosang's greed for wisdom didn't matter to him at all. With rambling about Zey, though, he could help. It was a small price to pay for his father's medicine.</p><p>"Most of the things in Zey behave differently than in Asora. We don't use nethicite energies, for example. We have distinguished kinds of works and schedules that rely on our surroundings. Our kids don't get educated."</p><p>Yeosang's pen flew over the paper as he noted Jongho's every word down. He sucked them up like a sponge. Concentration had him tight in its grip while Jongho randomly blurted out anything that came to mind.</p><p>"Many people die of diseases. Medicine is expensive. Sometimes, people decide they don't even want to try living in these circumstances and take their own lives."</p><p>With a soft gasp, Yeosang rose his eyes. His troubled expression showed compassion for those people he had no connection to. Jongho couldn't bear focusing on him and lowered his eyes.</p><p>"Rich people travel to Zey to regard us like animals in a zoo. We live off of merchants' food since we can't grow our own because the ground is barren. When it rains, some houses and all streets flood."</p><p>Jongho had no idea what the important bits characterised. For him, this concluded his daily life; he knew nothing else. He couldn't be sure which of these facts were relating only to Zey or maybe both cities.</p><p>"That sounds horrible."</p><p>Jongho shrugged as he met Yeosang's honest expression. He was used to it; he didn't pity himself.</p><p>"We also don't have many libraries or librarians over there. Some people can't read. You would be a very odd personality in our books." With a small smile, Jongho tried to raise the man's mood again. He hoped Yeosang wouldn't change his mind about aiding Jongho because he disliked their reality.</p><p>At his jest, the man hesitated, however.</p><p>"I'm- You thought I'm a librarian?" A little chuckle escaped him. It was small but free, and his face laughed while his eyes didn't. Jongho found the observation interesting.</p><p>"Why else would you be in here? I also pondered it for a while since you chose weird quarters even for a worker. You being so close with Prince Seonghwa threw me off, too. Are palace people all that close with each other?" Jongho fiddled with his leg. Yeosang lowered his pen when his attention immediately shifted to the metal gears.</p><p>"Seonghwa is my brother."</p><p>Jongho stopped short. Unsure if he jumped to the right conclusions, he studied Yeosang's face first. The man had closed off slightly, and his eyes had grown duller than just a moment before.</p><p>"Then aren't you a prince?"</p><p>With a shake of his head, Yeosang picked up the pen again. His smile appeared forced and wry.</p><p>"No. I'm just a little librarian. Now, where were we?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Tales about Asora</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The soft light from the moon lamp cast a blueish halo around Yeosang’s head as he worked. Jongho took a break while he finished by the table. The original moon outside of the curtain-free window lazily made its way over the nightly sky. With it, the raked shadows of the trees outside travelled over Yeosang’s floor.</p><p>Jongho observed the prince with intrigue. Until recently, he never would have guessed that Yeosang might be a prince, but now that he mulled it over in his head once more, it added up. He resided in the palace, and he was close to the crown prince. Back when Jongho had visited the first time, he had eaten in his private quarters that he clearly had the privilege to choose based on his rank.</p><p>His feelings about discovering a prince interested in Zey and its people were mixed. While he was glad to recognise Yeosang’s attempts and judgement-free curiosity in his town, Jongho's cynical side also distrusted him. Why in the world would Yeosang need to wait for somebody to break inside his home to take action? As a prince, he must be powerful enough to push his own researches and wants.</p><p>As Jongho warily eyed him, Yeosang continued with his scribbles. Whenever a question came up in his head, he would ask Jongho about it. He didn’t mention the prince thing again ever since.</p><p>Time passed slowly for them. Jongho was keenly aware of his restriction to this one room, and it triggered his anxiousness. Used to moving around, staying seated for too long was pure torture for him. If he ever had to come here again, he should bring something to tinker with.</p><p>Yeosang sniffed as he pulled his blanket tighter around his hips. When Jongho snapped out of his daydreams at the sudden movement, their eyes met. In the twilight of the room, Jongho wasn’t able to discern the man’s eye colour. He could only guess that they were dark.</p><p>“Are you tired?”</p><p>Jongho mildly shook his head. His leg had fallen asleep and ached against the straps that held the gadgets to it as he shifted.</p><p>“I’m fine. I got the engine by the gearbox.”</p><p>Yeosang nodded uncertainly.</p><p>“Then if you, as a westsider were to find an eastsider who has been… let’s say robbed on the streets, how do you react?”</p><p>With as much care as he could muster, Jongho imagined the situation. He knew that these things were important to Yeosang even if they felt like unproductive tommy-rot to him.</p><p>“I wouldn’t mind him. I might ask him to mind the grease, but I wouldn’t rob him. Personally. There are a lot of people in Zey who think otherwise.” Jongho nodded, satisfied with his answer. Yet, Yeosang frowned confusedly.</p><p>“You wouldn’t help him?”</p><p>At the direct follow-up question, Jongho quizzically inclined his head. It took him a moment to understand the upset that tainted Yeosang’s voice.</p><p>He shook his head.</p><p>“No. We don’t help people in Zey, especially not if they are from another place. We barely trust each other.”</p><p>Gnawing on his lips, Yeosang considered his words. He didn’t write them down yet, however. He fumbled with his pen instead.</p><p>“What if they were off really bad. Bleeding, maybe, and begging for help? Would you do it then?”</p><p>Jongho’s answer was resolute when he declined once more. This time, he crossed his arms, too.</p><p>“No. I don’t care what happens to an outsider, and neither does anyone else over there. Not caring is the only blessing I can give. Enough people would trample your character to death, especially when he comes from a noble family.”</p><p>A thoughtful hum sounded from Yeosang. Then, he vaguely took some notes. The scratch of his pencil on paper filled the room.</p><p>“I will rethink that part, then. Do Zey’s folks not have a moral compass? Not getting help at all sounds like a cruel thing to me.” The prince lowered his book to shift the centre of his attention back to Jongho. His naked feet twitched underneath his blanket as he rubbed them together.</p><p>Jongho was still in his full gear, so he wondered how cold the room felt to Yeosang. Maybe he would move into warmer quarters during the winter.</p><p>“We do, but it revolves around our families. People in Zey can hardly speak of having friends. The streets try to kill us every day; hence we’re wary of them.”</p><p>Yeosang had a hard time imagining how rough it must be, and it clearly showed on his face. Jongho couldn’t blame him for not grasping the concept of constant danger. Yeosang lived in the safest place around; he didn’t have to worry about the trivial aspects of life like that.</p><p>“In Asora, we would help. We would help Zey’s people, too.”</p><p>Jongho pursed his lips. While Yeosang didn’t exactly speak down on him, he still took the moral high ground. Clearly, that was his right. Jongho couldn’t understand Asora just how Zey alienated Yeosang. Right now, they were too mismatched to meet in the middle. Yet, Jongho wouldn't want to be helped by Asora's people.</p><p>Because the middle between them was a gaping chasm that swallowed everyone who dared approach it. Jongho would keep that line.</p><p>“I don’t doubt you would. But I’m afraid we would either mistrust you or be too prideful to have that end well. It’s better to keep distance,” he said with as much sympathy he could muster. He wouldn’t agree with Yeosang, not tonight. And judging by the wrinkles on the other man’s forehead he wouldn’t either.</p><p>“You are here, though. So you trust me enough to return.”</p><p>Jongho leaned back in his chair.</p><p>“And I am a westsider who didn’t decide to kill you on sight. It seems as if we found exceptions with each other.”</p><p>To that, Yeosang could agree. He put his notebook aside and stood from his place on the bed. When he stretched his arms to his sides, his shoulders cracked eerily. Jongho grimaced.</p><p>“Then I shall get you a reward for your help now. I’m very thankful that you took the time. You must be nervous about staying here for long.”</p><p>Jongho remained seated as Yeosang slipped into the shoes the eastsiders fancily wore at home and shuffled over to the door.</p><p>"Best you stay here until I return. No one will come in.”</p><p>Stiff, Jongho moved not even a single finger as Yeosang exited the room. He darted out into the library with his head ducked as if he was the criminal here. Why was he not part of the main palace quarters? Even if he chose to be here, his protection couldn't get any worse within the palace grounds.</p><p>With a frown, Jongho busied his hands with his gadgets.</p><p>Yeosang didn’t possess a clock, as far as Jongho could see. He judged by the moon’s stance that dawn would creep over the horizon soon. Yeosang had timed their meeting perfectly so that Jongho could leave before he got into trouble.</p><p>By now, the mechanic was brimming with curiosity. Would Mingi be able to find something out about Yeosang’s degree as a prince? Surely, he must be part of the rumours with the rest of the royals. Again, Jongho shared no interest in politics. However, in all of the discussions and hushed curses about the royal family, nobody ever mentioned another child apart from Seonghwa.</p><p>What spiel was the Undying pulling? Jongho suspected it might have to do with more elaborate plans than just his first son's coronation.</p><p>As Jongho rubbed his numb legs and inconspicuously looked around the room, his eyes fell on Yeosang’s notebook. He hesitated for a second. While the injustice of searching through Yeosang’s personal belongings egged his conscience to stop, his fingers didn’t. With a smooth swipe, he held the brown leather-bound book in his palms.</p><p>He handled it with great care, similar to what he would do to his tools. The worth of this thing was immeasurable for Yeosang, so Jongho treated it with the appropriate respect. He even used his right hand to flip through the pages so that the metal wrapped around his dominant hand wouldn’t scratch against the paper.</p><p>Yeosang seemed to be an artist next to being an author. Many pages of the worn book were filled with texts of varying length. In between, however, a few drawings dotted the content. Some were hastily sketched landscapes - mostly the sight from his window. Others were fully fleshed out people. Jongho speculated that the young man pictured in most drawings might be Seonghwa, Yeosang’s brother. According to Yeosang's hand, he was sometimes a stiff and tall man with a frown on his face. Other times, he was a young boy who curled up between books to read.</p><p>Each picture told a story about how Yeosang had abandoned any original task - and draft - he had been working on, just to draw his companions with utmost gentleness. As far as Jongho recognised, Yeosang was a very devoted painter.</p><p>Two sketches showed a middle-aged woman, probably his mother. Then, after another short poem, the writing ended at once. A few pages of pure nothingness met Jongho. As he flipped through more and more of them, his confusion grew.</p><p>Abruptly, another sketch appeared after what had to be a dozen empty pages. Jongho startled when he first laid his eyes upon it. Albeit its simplicity, it was emitting such a creepy aura that Jongho nearly dropped the book. With a quiet yelp, he clutched it into his hands to stare down at the eerie face that seemed to look right back at him.</p><p>The person - or creature, he couldn’t say - depicted was radiating pure evil. Other than Seonghwa and their mother before, this male triggered malaise in Jongho to the point of nearly making him nauseous. And he was not the only one. As if possessed by dark emotions that he couldn’t channel back then, Yeosang had messily finished the drawing only to start scratching all over it with his pen. Dark lines crossed all of the paper with no apparent pattern and even ripped it in some places. Jongho was sure that the spots of wavy material came from tears. They smudged the lines, but even in his frenzy, Yeosang hadn’t managed to cross out the man in the middle.</p><p>He was close enough that Jongho only saw his head up until his shoulders. His one eye that was drawn was the only part of the painting that had shadows and dimensions to accentuate it further. The other one was surrounded by elaborate tech that seemed to bite deeply into his flesh and connect to his nerve system. At a further inspection, his whole head appeared to be connected by wires that also went into his neck and down his invisible torso. The more metal structures Jongho found between Yeosang’s scribbles, the more this person defined a machine that wore a human face like a mask over its metal skull.</p><p>It was downright terrifying to look at. When Jongho’s brain delivered the biting phantom pain of stabs by wires, he hastily flipped away.</p><p>His heart beat wildly in his chest. With his sleeve, he wiped his clammy forehead and tried to shake the shivers off his arms.</p><p>"What the deuce..."</p><p>A few more empty sides followed the horror visage. Then, finally, the writing picked up again. It had Jongho breathe with relief when the same type of texts and little pictures in and around it merrily carried on. A while after, he also found the pages that concerned himself. Yeosang seemed to be… puzzled about him. His scribbles notes created a sharp contrast to the pretty cursive texts earlier, and they were filled with question marks. Jongho was referred to as ‘mysterious stranger’ and ‘westsider’ a lot. A smile curled around Jongho’s lips as he amusedly skimmed the information he had given to Yeosang.</p><p>Sometimes, the prince drew little characters that reminded Jongho of turnips next to the information. They had adorable expressions of confusion and fretting.</p><p>The line ‘don’t ask him about the automatons!!’ had a screaming turnip and many lines under it.</p><p>The most recent page was the most interesting one. As if Yeosang had drifted off somewhere in the middle of their talks, he had drawn Jongho. A rough sketch of him on the chair that had a ridiculous amount of detail in his gadgets accompanied the next page — also, Jongho’s eyes.</p><p>Chuckling, Jongho snapped the book shut. He felt as if he had learnt Yeosang’s whole life story out of this single piece, and he hadn’t even read through it. Against his expectations, he found himself inquisitive. He wanted to hear the stories behind those drawings suddenly, and that scared him. No attachment to the weird prince from Asora was approved of.</p><p>Jongho crossed his arms and waited until Yeosang came back. Once he did, he had a bright smile and a bag of goods with him.</p><p>“Here you go! Let’s meet again soon!”</p><p>With a hum, Jongho shouldered the bag and pulled his mask up to his nose.</p><p>“Yeah, let’s see about that.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Schemes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Jongho had regrouped with Mingi in a secluded corner of the splendid hallways, the two thieves confidently set out to make their way home. As before, they were lucky to dodge the automatons that patrolled the Chasm successfully. Before the first orange rays from the sun hit the earth, Jongho was already back in Mingi’s hideout.</p><p>He shared half of the loot Yeosang had collected with the tall man, and then they just tiredly lounged at the table and waited for the curfew to end. Mingi made tea.</p><p>“So, spill the news. Could you find out anything about the whole prince story?” Jongho was curled up in his chair as if it was his own home. His body had long since accustomed to the weird positions he folded it into while he worked. Like this, he was comfortable and could play with the gears on his leg.</p><p>Mingi had rid himself of his coat and vest, too. His rumpled green shirt added to the deep shadows underneath his eyes. Yet, his voice was wide awake. He busied his hands with the tea in his form of mediative tasks as he blubbered everything he knew like a never-ending stream of water.</p><p>“I have such interesting news. I found out that the prince appears to have a quite tense relationship with his father. Who can blame him? Apparently, the rumours about Seonghwa’s pursuit in better living conditions and changes to both cities are true. He often talks about building bridges and getting rid of the automatons. In his mind, it’s not only Asora but Asorazey.”</p><p>With his lips pursed into a thin line, Jongho gave an approving nod. He acknowledged the attempt more now that he knew Yeosang. Asora hosted a few people who cared.</p><p>Mingi poked the mugs to test if the clearly boiling tea was still hot. He burnt his fingertip and sucked on it with a protesting yelp.</p><p>“As the person who divided the kingdom in the first place, his father, of course, disapproves of that. But it seems as if things are going on in the shadows. Seonghwa holds his ground, and many servants and ministers are behind him. The Undying’s reign might actually come to an end.” With a glint in his eyes, Mingi brought their mugs over. Bits of hot tea sloshed over the edge. Mingi didn’t mind.</p><p>“Do they fight a lot?” Jongho warmed his gloved hands on his tea. Greedily, his skin sucked up any comfort the beverage had to offer.</p><p>Mingi shrugged. His hair fell shaggily into his eyes from not being tended to in a long time. Crumbs and dirt that came from climbing the wall were stuck in between the strands.</p><p>“I can’t say; I haven’t seen them together. They probably do, though. Since Seonghwa is his only son and the crown prince, I’m sure the king has a hard time restricting him. By the sound of it, both of them try to outsmart the other. Seonghwa is on the shorter end of the stick, though. The king’s much older and wiser than him.”</p><p>So if they rooted for Seonghwa, Zey’s people might yield advantage from his success. However, the risk of him getting silenced was comparably more likely. Jongho didn’t want to imagine all the schemes and ploys that took place behind the palace walls. The royals' true intentions were just as split as Asora and Zey, and everybody pursued an endless struggle for temporary victory.</p><p>The gears still turned in Jongho’s head. He also knew something that Mingi had yet to learn.</p><p>“He’s not the only son. Yeosang told me that he’s Seonghwa’s brother,” he disclosed with a low and secretive voice. Nobody could eavesdrop on them out here, but since Yeosang had been sensible on the matter, Jongho wouldn’t scream it into the void, either.</p><p>Surprise washed over Mingi’s expression. His fingers mindlessly circled over the rim of his mug.</p><p>“He did? Now that’s odd. I saw and heard of Seonghwa only in the main building. Even outside, I don’t think anyone ever mentioned a second prince. Do you think he might be the favoured one?”</p><p>Jongho frowned at the theory. Yeosang had his princely manners, yes, but he was far from anybody who considered taking the throne. That sounded more like Seonghwa.</p><p>“I think he hides. Or gets hidden.”</p><p>The pieces added up. Yeosang homed outside of the main building and away from the sight of his father. Seonghwa visited him a lot nearby the library that they both frequented and that gave Yeosang an outlet to escape. He ate in his room. He was cold. He had no curtains or many other personal items for that matter.</p><p>Yeosang got shunned. They pretended as if he didn’t exist. By the looks of it, they refused to register him rather than forming an ultimate weapon.</p><p>“Two sons? His ability to get kids can’t be that bad, then! Do you think they might have different mothers? It’s said that Seonghwa’s mother fell ill after giving birth to him. She was too weak to bear another son.” Mingi squinted his eyes as his fingers tirelessly tapped against the wooden tabletop. Jongho expected to see steam rise from his head soon if he continued like this.</p><p>“If it’s another woman outside of marriage it would be unbecoming for their terms, yes. That might be the reason to keep him out of the public eye so that they wouldn’t make a judgement.”</p><p>At once, Jongho pitied Yeosang. He was trapped in a cage that might be more beautiful than Zey, but the distrust and danger were all the same. He couldn’t go anywhere, either.</p><p>His interest in Zey and as an author finally added up. To flee the solitude of his own life, even befriending a criminal sounded good to him.</p><p>Jongho changed his opinion on the man. He deserved more credit.</p><p>“How outrageous. What do you think would happen if we told Asora’s people that he is trapped inside? Do you think they might start a civil war?” Mingi leaned back in his chair with his mug cradled in his hands. After a while of letting it cool, Jongho drank his, too.</p><p>“They might. But we won’t do that. It would throw him in danger just like if I told the automatons that you cross the canyon sometimes.”</p><p>Mingi barked a throaty laugh. Gleeful, he looked Jongho up and down, and mirth shone in his dark eyes.</p><p>“Reconsider that, please. I help you a lot, and we became chuckaboos in that time!”</p><p>Jongho rose a critical brow at him.</p><p>“Did we? I didn’t catch that.”</p><p>With another chuckle, Mingi reached into his pocket to check his watch. As he let it slip back into place, he yawned loudly and stretched his long arms over his head.</p><p>“Aright, time to go to bed. We should hang sometime outside of risking our lives. You can meet my family if you’d like.”</p><p>Jongho gave a non-committal hum as he stood up and got his bag. He put his askew clothing back into place. Before he left, he gave a mocking salute in Mingi’s direction. The man tiredly giggled at him before he escorted him out.</p><p>-</p><p>Jongho promised Mingi to meet up as soon as possible. The experience of having someone around who considered Jongho their friend was an entirely new concept to him, but he didn’t dislike it. He even looked forward to spending time with Mingi for once without nearly falling to his certain death. Even his grappling hook gadget would profit off their friendship.</p><p>Full of optimistic outlooks, Jongho travelled Zey to hunt down some merchants he could bother with his bounty. The vase-loving man from last time was pleasantly surprised to see Jongho again. They talked some more, and Jongho got invited to bring his items more often for good prices. He would make use of that opportunity.</p><p>A few hours later, Jongho found himself in front of the medicine premise he frequented. The owner had known him for many years and could be considered a ‘chuckaboo’ as much as Mingi. Albeit Jongho never had any ties with the kind lady apart from the medicines he bought from her, he considered her a stable part of his life. He had even promised her to swing by sometimes after his father recovered.</p><p>Jongho entered the familiar store and was hit by the thick smell of different herbs. They clogged the air like a cloud of smoke - if much healthier - and tended to get Jongho drowsy; hence he never stayed for long. He still smiled a little private grin underneath his mask when he stepped up to the counter.</p><p>The old woman immediately recognised him. Her eyes crinkled above her mask that was made of a worn but pretty flower cloth. His arrival here meant trouble, but she showed delight in aiding his struggles anyway.</p><p>“Oh, hi, Jongho! How have you been? Is your father alright?”</p><p>As one of the few acquaintances, she knew about his dad’s condition, of course. According to Jongho’s mother, she had also helped her a lot when she was pregnant with both Yunho and Jongho. She cared maybe a bit too much about their wellbeing. Yet, Jongho didn’t condemn her for being involved either.</p><p>“We had a mishap with the medicines, so I need some more.”</p><p>With a swift nod, she twirled around to search the many little drawers behind her for the right item. The labels aided her way while Jongho rested against the wooden counter and watched her. Once she presented the little bag of white powder, a satisfied hum passed between her and Jongho. He chuckled.</p><p>“Here you go. Maybe you should put your skills to good use and build some safety measures for it. My husband always has some scrap to offer.” Compared to other people around, her voice carried genuine welfare. Jongho took her up on the offer from time to time.</p><p>“I still have some at home, but I’ll come back if the need for more arises. Thank you for helping.” Jongho set a bag with coins that he had already counted beforehand on the counter in front of her. Sometimes, he sneaked in another coin or two and left hurriedly before she could call him out on it. In return, she weighed the medicine generously for him. Sharing their precious wares out of goodwill was rare in Zey, but Jongho made exceptions for her. Without her help, his father wouldn’t have made it anywhere as long.</p><p>“Of course. Youjin swung by earlier, by the way. Said some gentlemen from the docks searched for you. Maybe you should ask him about it next time.”</p><p>Jongho nodded. He appreciated how tightly connected the web of people was in Zey. It was easy to gain access to exactly the people needed, and anybody could transmit messages.</p><p>“I’ll see what that menace wants now. See you next time, then.” With a thankful bow, Jongho left. She yelled at him to take care before he slipped out the door.</p><p>The air outside seemed less stuffy, if far more dangerous than inside the store. Jongho grabbed onto the nearest windowsill and scaled the house with powerful movements of his legs. Whirring, his gadgets pushed him further than his own muscles would have been able to.</p><p>Once he was back on the roofs of Zey and the wind tickled underneath his clothes, Jongho felt as free as it could get. No people bothered him up here, no shady figure shouldered past him in an alley, and the view over Asora and the ocean were breathtaking.</p><p>Jongho didn’t like these surroundings because he wanted to look down on Zey. Rather, he found that if Zey’s inhabitants rose their heads and blinked against the sun for once, every one of them would gain more energy.</p><p>After half an hour of jumping over roofs and poles, Jongho arrived home. His father was in bed and propped up against a pillow when Jongho came in. At his doting smile, Jongho grinned broadly, too.</p><p>“Hey, dad. I brought your medicine.”</p><p>“Bless your soul, kid. Sit down; I want to tell you a story. About how the Undying became king.”</p><p>Jongho humoured him as he set his bag down and cooked some tea. He was happy as long as his father contently rambled away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Of Hopes and Dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>No matter how often Jongho listened to the story of Asorazey splitting, he still wondered what had been going on in people’s heads at that time. When Jongho imagined how he would react if the earth suddenly broke apart under his very feet, then rather than a single person, he would trust in the population of the city. As wishful as his thinking was, though, he knew that the people who had insisted to hurriedly make the Undying - the brother of the original king back in the day - had been selfish. When they heard that their king and his young daughter died, but another member of the family offered safety and riches to them, they complied. They had deliberately looked away as Zey sunk into ruin and the automatons were built. The ban on bridges withheld Zey’s people from contaminating the rich eastside. Asora bloomed with development and progress while Zey fell further behind than what it once was.</p><p>Zey’s people had learnt their bitter lesson. Now, about four generations after, they had suffered enough to see the faults in the Undying’s system. But since he was an eternally living human, the respect and fear had even those in Asora who disagreed with his standpoints keep low and shiver. There was no way to change things as long as he remained in his position.</p><p>Jongho’s father blamed all the misfortune of his existence on this one man. Most of Zey’s inhabitants did. Their bitterness gifted them with unfulfilled lives that were fuelled by hate until the day they died. Jongho was not an exception, but whenever his father cursed the king, he felt oddly detached.</p><p>Jongho didn’t have enough to do with the king himself to despise him. While dissatisfied with the regulations and laws, he blamed his situation rather than a single person.</p><p>Undeniably, he was still at fault. His irrevocable mistakes had cost countless lives and would demand even more.</p><p>“What has you sighing like that?”</p><p>Jongho jolted out of his thoughts at the sudden call behind him. The owner of the deep voice grinned at him broadly as he crossed the last distance between him and Jongho. With his hand held up to deflect the sun, Jongho blinked up at Mingi through narrow eyes.</p><p>“Shouldn’t you be wearing your mask?”</p><p>Mingi waved it off with an exaggerated gesture of his hand. He folded his impossibly long legs under his body to drop down next to Jongho. Then, he handed a bowl over.</p><p>“I’ll be fine, the wind blows in from the sea, not towards it. Here, eat.”</p><p>With big eyes, Jongho stared at the sizable bowl in his lap. Then back at Mingi.</p><p>“You brought me food?”</p><p>“Yeah I did, you look meagre. You better not leave anything!”</p><p>Jongho’s hands were shaking slightly as he unwrapped the cloth that held the package together. The amount of food Mingi had gotten for him was far more than he would usually purchase, and Jongho’s throat tightened at the thought of what this had to cost. He never got full meals for himself; he only ever ate half of them to save money and share with his dad. Sometimes, when his dad couldn’t eat much, Jongho allowed himself more, but that was his limit.</p><p>“I can pay you back,” he murmured as he picked up the spoon and got comfortable. Mingi shook his head where he was busy fiddling with the knot himself.</p><p>“Just eat, man. Its compensation for the time you spent with me instead of working.”</p><p>Jongho swallowed the first bite around his constricted throat, and it was delicious. The best meal he ever had, maybe. When he began wolfing it down, Mingi grinned at him sunnily from his side.</p><p>They were too preoccupied with their food to uphold a conversation, but as soon as Jongho had finished scratching the whole bowl clean, he talked. His stomach was full for once and pleasantly rumbled at him for once feeding it the amount it desired.</p><p>“Thank you. That was a very brotherly thing to do.”</p><p>Mingi wiped some rice from the corner of his mouth. He licked it off his fingers mindlessly as his eyes remained transfixed on the airship he had been following since earlier. It shone brilliantly in the sky as it crossed through the clouds and neared the docks. The huge balloon that carried it was dark brown and nearly blocked out the sun from closer up.</p><p>“I do have a lot of kids at home to look after, after all. I don’t spend much time there, but whenever I do, I fall into the role of their caretaker again.”</p><p>“Do they restrict your aspirations?” Jongho stacked the two bowls into each other so that he could return them later. Taking part in the work was the least thing he could do to repay Mingi for the wonderful meal.</p><p>“Not anymore. Back when I was younger, I desperately wanted to join a crew and fly away. I couldn’t, since I had to take care of my family, but by now, that dream also doesn’t haunt me anymore. I’m good living in the canyon. It’s peaceful, and I make enough money that I can dodge Zey’s worst sides well.” Mingi leaned back on his hands and dropped his head onto his shoulder. His forlorn expression was stricken with the melancholy a painful memory brought.</p><p>“But I think I was normal in that regard. Many kids dream of flying off,” he added with a giggle. Jongho stretched out next to him and frowned over how much shorter his legs were than Mingi’s. Again, a reminder of Yunho. Jongho had always pouted about being so much smaller than his brother, but the other man had comforted him with a smile and the promise that Jongho had an advantage in hiding.</p><p>“Where did you want to fly to?”</p><p>Mingi nodded his chin over the ocean. It was the roughest of all directions he could give, but Jongho’s little dreaming heart understood. Anywhere. Anywhere new and exciting was fine.</p><p>“I wanted to go to one of the big universities that I heard about from the sailors. Even if they are far off, they have so much knowledge to share. I know somebody who went there, and he’s the most interesting person I ever met. He studied physics and build a pair of wings that allow him to fly. How amazing is that?”</p><p>Awed, Jongho crossed eyes with Mingi. Genuine respect and envy painted both of their features.</p><p>“He can fly? Without a ship underneath his feet?”</p><p>“Yeah! They taught him all about it in school, and he builds his own stuff based on that knowledge. I also saw weapons and vehicles of so many interesting kinds. We always think about Asora and what they have that we don’t, but out there is an even bigger world.”</p><p>Deeply impressed, Jongho approved of that statement with a nod. He could relate to Mingi’s search of meaning and knowledge. Zey lacked a lot in these categories, and few studied experts were willing to settle in a city like theirs.</p><p>“Maybe I should ask Yeosang for some books to lend when I see him next time. He might have just what you need if you’re interested in that,” Jongho offered kindly. After learning what Mingi’s hopes were, he yearned to support the man to the best of his ability.</p><p>With a giggle, Mingi nudged his elbow into Jongho’s side.</p><p>“Hey, I would love that. From how that Yeosang boy sounds, he would love to give you anything to write your reactions down.”</p><p>They laughed together about the well-meant joke. Yeosang intrigued Mingi just how he did with Jongho. Their tentative attempts to understand and meet on a middle ground between their very different home towns had them all on the edges of their seats.</p><p>“How about you, though? I know you have to take care of your dad, but what would you do if you had the choice to go anywhere?”</p><p>Jongho fiddled with his gloves. He had to think about the question for a few seconds before he found his definite answer.</p><p>“When I was younger, I also wanted to fly away. Many kids did, or so I’ve heard.” They grinned at each other. “But honestly, I don’t know. I like Zey as my home, even if it makes living unbearable. If my future would consist of a Zey without automatons as the prince wants, I would just stay here with my dad. I don’t think that I need anything more. Or would be comfortable with that change for any matter.”</p><p>Mingi dreamily sighed into the blue sky. Its expanse reached far until the horizon where it seemed to merge with the ocean in one blur of light colours. Airships dotted the heavens like oversize birds.</p><p>“It would be such a dream if his wishes came true. After all, I saw and heard from him I would bet on him, too. But I won’t trust that promise until I see it become a reality.”</p><p>“I feel the same.”</p><p>For a moment, silence wrapped around the two of them. The roar of distant machines near the docks that led to the open sky accompanied their peace. Jongho played with a stone he found on the ground.</p><p>“I think I might try to go back soon. Out of curiosity. I think there is much more to find out about that family, and I’ll research some more.” Mingi gnawed on his lips as he mulled his idea over in his head. The safety risk it posed demanded caution and careful reconsideration.</p><p>“Do you want to join?” The wind messed up Mingi’s hair as he turned to look at Jongho. Like fire, the red locks tumbled around his head and into his forehead.</p><p>“Yeah. Seeing Yeosang helps us with info, and if I save some of the money he gets me, then I don’t have to worry about my father at least for now.”</p><p>With a smooth movement, Mingi sat up straight. Jongho followed his example, and for a moment, they just stared at each other in clueless silence. Then, Mingi cocked his head with a hum.</p><p>“When do you want to go? I’m working on a little project right now, and depending on when it is; I might finish early.”</p><p>“Yunho’s death day is coming up. Let’s go the night after. Give me four days.”</p><p>The bright smile that probably made his little siblings laugh whenever he was around was back on Mingi’s face. As he pushed his tousled hair back, his focus was already on something beyond his sight and in the depths of his mind.</p><p>“Sounds good! I can finish until then. If you want me to, I can also help with his memorial in case you might need it. I’m not busy.”</p><p>Jongho pondered it. Ever since he and his parents had held the first ceremony near the cliff for Yunho and bid him their goodbyes, Jongho had the only one coming back. His father was too sick to go last time, and both of his parents had pushed it off their minds the year prior. If Jongho managed to get his father here to mourn his son rightfully, he would feel less regretful towards Yunho.</p><p>“That would actually help me a lot. I think my dad might need it. If you want, you can come by in two days whenever you have time. We will await you, and then we can go together.” Jongho stumbled onto his slightly numb feet but quickly regained his footing. The salty breeze of the sea combined with the bright sunlight made him sneeze. While Mingi clumsily stood up, too, Jongho fixed his mask back in place.</p><p>“Got it. If your old man’s not up to dick, then I can just go with you. Any brother of my chuckaboo is a brother of mine!”</p><p>With a disbelieving snort, Jongho picked up their bowls. He tucked them neatly under his arm as they began making their way back.</p><p>“Is that how you collected so many siblings? You stole them from your friends?”</p><p>Mingi gave him an impish grin that bordered sinisterness. It had Jongho chuckle into his mask.</p><p>“Maybe I did. Now, where might those friends have gone, then? Maybe I ate them!”</p><p>Mingi was a funny guy to be around. His presence did wonders to make Jongho forget his life's direness and let him relax for once.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Mourning Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We’re going somewhere today.”</p><p>Curious, Jongho’s father lifted his eyes from his journal. He had immersed himself in it ever since the early morning and read about popular mechanics' labour and life further in the mainland. Some rich travellers had spread the paper to try and hire a few workers for their projects the day prior. Neither of the two men would go, but Jongho’s father enjoyed to immerse himself in anything that spelt news once in a while.</p><p>“Together? Where? I don’t think I’ll be able to join you, even if I feel fine today.”</p><p>Jongho lifted his duffel onto his back. Earlier that morning he had garnered some objects that reminded him of Yunho in their humble home. He had packed his music bunny, a gauntlet that Yunho had liked to wear before they forbid him to in the army, and their shared pillow. All of them served as his last reminders of his brother, whose face had become a distant memory by now. They would help his father remember, too.</p><p>“It’s Yunho’s day, dad. I’ll take you this year.” Jongho’s voice sounded breathy and quiet in his throat. For a second, the silence stretched in the room when his father didn’t answer yet.</p><p>“Or do you… Not want to go?” Jongho poised the question with careful consideration. His father had every right to refuse, and if he did, Jongho had no way to force him. Still, he hoped for him to agree.</p><p>His father sighed the sigh of an old man who had lived for too long. As his eyes travelled over Jongho’s face and read everything right off it, Jongho felt uncomfortably exposed. He fumbled the cord of his bag with his fingers.</p><p>“I asked my friend to come over and help, so you don’t have to worry. He can help us get you there and back.”</p><p>The tension thickened when Jongho’s father let his paper sink. Jongho prepared for rejection as he already chided himself for even considering to ask. His father was sick. He should concentrate on regaining his strength rather than accompanying Jongho on a trip that he could go on alone very well.</p><p>“Fine, let’s go together.”</p><p>At the sudden approval, Jongho gasped softly. Glee filled his chest as he sprung over to his father’s bed. The man smiled indulgently as Jongho rambled about Mingi and how he would help while he collected some clothes for his father to wear. They hung slack around his thin shoulders, but as long as they would keep him warm, that played no role.</p><p>Jongho was about finished with dressing up his dad when Mingi shyly knocked on the door. He introduced himself with his best smile that had Jongho’s father copy the gesture to the best of his ability.</p><p>Then, the two young men exchanged restless gazes.</p><p>“Should we support him one arm each?” Mingi suggested with wrinkles that dug into his forehead. Jongho nodded carefully.</p><p>“Maybe sling his arm over your shoulder and hold him around the waist? We’ll try to balance the difference in heights.”</p><p>Mingi handled Jongho’s father with great care as he aided him to stand. A mumbled inquiry if he was comfortable passed his lips, and Jongho’s father hurried to reassure him. At seeing the two of them quickly be casual with each other, Jongho disentangled his worried mind. Mingi was there, too, and he had managed to convince his father to join them.</p><p>Yunho had to wait just a bit longer for them to arrive.</p><p>They took the less popular alleys through Zey. Jongho knew them like the back of his hand, and only a few people passed them to send curious glances their way. Mingi quietly conversed with Jongho’s father and made sure that he could breathe through his mask and didn’t faint on them.</p><p>When they stepped out of the city and towards the mighty cliffs, Jongho reached over to feel his dad’s temperature. His forehead had ignited with the usual feverish warmth it held, but it didn’t seem worse than usual. Relieved, Jongho helped him over the stones while his father was still blinded by the brilliance of the skies and the ocean. Both were clear blue today even if Jongho suspected that it might snow later. Some ice had covered the streets in the morning.</p><p>The sight captivated his father for long enough that they could safely position him on one of the large stones near the drop down to the water. While he was busy marvelling over the airships in the distance, Jongho left it to Mingi to supervise him. Jongho pulled the items from his bag one by one. Neatly, he set them down in a row next to each other on the stone in front of him. A bunny, a gauntlet, and a pillow.</p><p>Then, he reached for the pen and three ribbons he had also packed. They didn’t have flowers since none grew in or around Zey, and he hadn’t wanted to travel too far to get them. He distributed the ribbons for everybody to write a message to Yunho on.</p><p>However, as soon as he sat down on his father’s side, Mingi suddenly reached into his own bag.</p><p>“I brought something! They are slightly squished and maybe not the right kind, but they have the correct colour.” He pulled a bunch of flowers seemingly out of nowhere. From the looks of it, they were random garden flowers he had found in Asora, but their pure white petals shone prettily anyway.</p><p>Jongho smiled thankfully.</p><p>“Those are great, thanks a lot. Here, dad, you write first.” While Jongho neatly arranged the flowers on the stone, his father and Mingi wrote a message on their ribbons for Yunho. No word was spoken as they shared the reverent tranquillity. The cliffs were outside of the centre of noise, but the city sounds in the distance disrupted their mourning anyway. The sloshing of the waves was dull from up here.</p><p>When it was time for Jongho to write, Mingi assisted his father as both twined their ribbons around the flowers' stems.</p><p>Jongho’s hand trembled as he lowered it to write. As usual, he had no idea what to tell Yunho. He didn’t even believe that the messages actually reached him. Yet, his mind at least supplied him with a basic wish.</p><p>
  <em>Yunho, I miss you. Take good care of yourself.</em>
</p><p>Wherever Yunho was now, he would need those words most. Satisfied, Jongho huddled closer to the other two who shivered in the cold ocean breeze. His unpracticed fingers fiddled with the task, but Mingi reached over with his slender hands to do it for him. The little smile on his face showed empathy.</p><p>All three of them sat back then to make their wishes for Yunho. Jongho was the only one who left his eyes open to stare out over the ocean unseeing. He hoped that Yunho was fine and that he was in a good place that didn’t pain him. If he was a spirit who still haunted his wrongdoers, he prayed for him to be successful. In all, he just hoped that Yunho was still as happy as he had been as a human.</p><p>After a while spent in peaceful silence that directed their thoughts at Yunho, Jongho’s dad was the first to exhale. His sigh severed the spell that grief had woven around them. While his voice was stricken with sadness, he didn’t shed a single tear.</p><p>“Thanks for dragging me out here, you boys. It’s refreshing to think about Yunho and get a change of view once in a while.”</p><p>Jongho’s chest swelled with pride and happiness. As long as his father was content, he continued to smile, too.</p><p>“I’m glad I could help! Even though I have to confess, I’m quite curious. About Yunho.” Mingi crossed his legs, and curiously leaned closer as he buried his hands deep in his pockets to store warmth. Jongho exchanged a glance with his father, but the man already started to recall. Today he was stable enough to tell the story himself.</p><p>“It has been several years now. Jongho was still a kid when the men came by and asked every man between eighteen and twenty-five years old to join them in their pointless war. They went through every home and forced the people to obey them, no matter their importance to the family or health status. I know that some people managed to hide, but Yunho didn’t want to. He met them head-on and told us he would be back soon after he won the war.”</p><p>Mingi nodded with rapt attention. From what Jongho knew he had an older brother himself, but he either must have sneaked off or managed to trick them somehow.</p><p>With a sad smile, Jongho’s father stared into the far distance.</p><p>“He was gone for a couple of months. And then, they told us that they lost everyone in the war. The broadsheets were everywhere, in case you remember. They tried to get off with the information that everybody died, but I dug deeper at that time.”</p><p>Jongho noticed him balling his hand to a fist next to his thigh. He lowered his eyes.</p><p>“They just said they lost their men, but they sent Zey’s men on a suicide mission. They strapped explosives to their bodies and told them to run into the enemy base. They were forced to give their lives no matter how successful they were.” His voice shook with anger. Jongho noticed the shocked and hurt expression on Mingi’s face. Yet, he was the one to reach over and squeeze his father’s hand with his own.</p><p>“All of them. Not a single man returned. They sent all of them to kill themselves, and when they failed, they withdrew their own troops. A few of Asora’s sons came back, but Zey’s were lost without fail.”</p><p>Jongho wondered if Seonghwa and Yeosang knew of this. Were they told what Asora did to people their age? About how their fate would have looked if they had been born on the other side?</p><p>“That’s incredibly cruel. I can’t believe that they would do that even to those who willingly joined. They defended Zey, too, after all!” Mingi’s protest warranted a bitter grin from Jongho and his father all the same.</p><p>“But they did. And they never told us what happened. They only said they lost against the enemy. Enough of them would have been far more able-bodied to flee than Asora’s soldiers if not for their mission. Even the opposing army found the act incredibly dishonourable. And thus, we were left in the dark and without our son. His mother grieved for him for nearly a year until her heart couldn’t take it anymore. Asora took both of them from us.”</p><p>Mingi had lowered his eyes, but he didn’t apologise for asking. With rhythmic strokes, Jongho massaged his father’s hand.</p><p>“So, by all means, if you boys can avenge him in any way, I will support you until the day I stop breathing. Asora deserves to feel the wrath of the people they hurt so cruelly with their actions,” Jongho’s father growled full of hatred and vengefulness. His face had contorted into an angry scowl that had Jongho hum at him comfortingly.</p><p>“We are tripping them wherever we can, but we will also be safe with it.”</p><p>Immediately, his father calmed. His wrinkly and limp hand relaxed in Jongho’s.</p><p>“True, yes. Please take good care of yourself. If Asora wipes you two out, too, then I have nobody left. I learned to hide my sons first before I send them away so that I will remember that.”</p><p>Jongho agreed as he glanced at Mingi’s shivering form.</p><p>“Come on, let’s get home. I can make us all some tea, and you two can talk some more while I do my delivery.”</p><p>They left the flowers for Yunho and collected the rest before they dragged Jongho’s father home. Mingi stayed for some tea and entertained his father while Jongho went and sprinted a circle through the city to bring a package. Once he came back home, curfew approached with the setting sun. Mingi sat alone at Jongho’s workbench, and interestedly inspected his work while his father was asleep already.</p><p>Jongho accompanied Mingi to the door after they quietly snuck out.</p><p>“Thanks for helping today. I really couldn’t have done this without your help. I think he liked meeting you.” Jongho smiled at Mingi honestly and full of gratitude. Shy, the man rubbed his neck.</p><p>“No problem. I’m happy you two let me in. I hope this might ease his mind a bit. If you ever want me to help drag him out into the air again, just tell me.” He stepped down the rattling metal staircase that led up to the second floor on the side of the house. Jongho rose his hand in greeting.</p><p>“I will, get home safely!”</p><p>“See you tomorrow.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Windows of Fortune</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You don’t seem to have many questions for me today.”</p><p>Yeosang responded with a barely audible hum from where he hovered over his notebook. Now that Jongho knew he was sketching on the side, he noticed the man’s thoughts stray and pencil move to draw any time. It amused him to a great deal. Today, however, Yeosang seemed more intrigued to sketch his outfit than interviewing Jongho. The mechanic didn’t mind much. He just sat on his chair with crossed arms and legs as he let Yeosang do his work.</p><p>“It’s not that I don’t have questions. They get very specific by now, and I feel like most of the things I would ask you can’t answer because you don’t see the world from the eyes of an artist.” Yeosang’s wry smile wasn’t meant to be mocking. Jongho knew that he couldn’t describe Zey as Yeosang needed him to. He leaned comfortably against the pillow that Yeosang had handed him to support his back.</p><p>“Did you ever consider paying Zey a visit? With me here you have pretty good chances to get to and fro alive.” Jongho picked at some dirt under his nails. He didn’t know what had prompted him to the sudden proposal. Accompanying a prince anywhere was unlike the tasks he normally dared to take on. He was versed with this world enough to dodge its dangers, but Yeosang had no idea what expected him out there.</p><p>“A bad idea. While nobody would miss me here, I fear that Zey is not the safest place for me to go. It’s horrible even for those who lived there all their lives.”</p><p>Jongho rolled his head around where it tiredly rested against the back of the chair. Yeosang didn’t mind him and continued drawing with a serene expression as Jongho sharply scrutinised him.</p><p>“Wouldn’t Seonghwa miss you? And be worried that you run into trouble over at the other side?”</p><p>Yeosang had collected some strands of the long hair in the back of his head into a tiny little ponytail. It made him appear like the artist he was. In Jongho’s opinion, he looked very soft and gentle in his dim room and with the pen held in his slender fingers like the most precious goods.</p><p>“I guess he would. But he has other things to do than check on me the whole time. He is a prince, after all.” Yeosang’s voice carried withdrawal as he dodged the topic once more. Quickly, he distracted himself before he started squirming under Jongho’s eyes that bore into him. His shifting eyes evaded him.</p><p>“How would you say does the social justice system work within families in Zey? If you were to witness a sibling commit fraud against another sibling, how would you react? How harsh would it be?”</p><p>Jongho didn’t release the pretty man from his stares as he thought about an answer. He and Yunho had never run into any troubles with each other since Yunho had been a person who gave too much rather than to exploit him. If any person would have an answer to this question, it was probably Mingi.</p><p>Yeosang listened to Jongho with utmost concentration, as he always did. Whenever he then lowered his eyes to his paper, his long lashes fluttered against his cheeks. Without ceasing, the tip of his pen danced over the paper and told his story.</p><p>Despite how often they had met until now, Yeosang had yet to tell Jongho the full plot of his book. For now, he only knew that a young boy came from a richer and highly esteemed surrounding into a grimy and unknown world. He ran into dangers there, and based on the notes that Jongho had skimmed when he had flicked through Yeosang’s book last time, he also met a potential love interest. The notes on that matter had been short and relatively insecure. By the looks of them, Yeosang had quickly scribbled the ideas down without much confidence or input.</p><p>Jongho found himself curious. Yeosang didn’t seem like a person with much knowledge in the field of love. If the assumption about his situation that Jongho and Mingi had concluded was true, then the probability that he had little to no experience was high. What kind of people would he like? Beautiful princesses, that his brother sometimes met from different countries? Or the orderly palace guards that treated him with respect and kindness?</p><p>Yeosang finished with his questions early. Both of them mentioned that Jongho was exhausted and barely holding his own body up on his chair. He nearly nodded off for a few times. By the time his head fell against his shoulder, and the sudden jerk woke him for the third time, Yeosang snapped his book shut with a smile. Little teeth appeared when Jongho blinked at him groggily.</p><p>“Come on, go home. I’ll get your reward, so make sure you don’t fall asleep.” On his way past Jongho, he tentatively reached out to gently pat his head. His fingers barely brushed against Jongho’s hair, but the contact was tangible enough that Jongho jolted from it. Touches sparked unfamiliarity in him, especially touches by Asora boys he barely knew. With a private smile, Yeosang darted out of the door. He left it slightly ajar and trusted that no one would come by in the time that he was gone.</p><p>When Jongho imagined him sneaking through the palace building and steal objects he deemed valuable enough to sell in Zey, he had to chuckle. The librarian-prince must feel like the greatest of all secret agents while he ransacked items from his very own palace. Jongho hoped he had fun.</p><p>After another moment of rest on his chair, Jongho tiredly pushed himself up. His body protested at the sudden change in blood flow. With an ignorant huff, Jongho reached over to Yeosang’s book. As he opened it from the back to dodge the weird horrendous picture in the front, he also grabbed onto the pen. The warmth of Yeosang’s hands had seeped into it, and the wood still carried the faint heat.</p><p>Once Jongho discovered the page Yeosang had decorated so dutifully earlier, he tilted it towards the light.</p><p>Multiple new sketches of Jongho had appeared around the bits of text that he had produced. Some were just his crossed legs; another one showed the boots he wore. His slumbering face took over a whole corner of it, and even his hands had found a place there.</p><p>Impressed with the accuracy the drafts held despite the speed they had been drawn in, Jongho brought the pen over. He put the tip underneath his own sleeping face and above the bit of family ties. Then, with careful and unpractised movements, he slowly wrote.</p><p>Some time had passed since he last wrote something. Zey usually didn’t require people to be able to write, and while Jongho’s father had taught him the letters early in his childhood, he rarely used them. His handwriting was by far not as beautiful as Yeosang’s, but despite their shaky lines, Jongho was satisfied with the results.</p><p>He had written his name right underneath the little drawing of him.</p><p>Before Yeosang could return and catch him with his book in his hands, Jongho hastily put it back in its place. He left it as he had found it so that Yeosang’s suspicions wouldn’t rise yet. Then, he perched back on his chair and patiently awaited the man’s return.</p><p>Yeosang hummed under his breath when he came back in and closed the door with his hip. With a faint smile at Jongho, he set the bag down in front of him.</p><p>“Here you are. If you ever need anything specific that is of more worth in Zey than here, you can also have that. I feel like a rebel, stealing all these things from my dad.”</p><p>Jongho snorted at the feigned evil giggle that came over Yeosang’s lips. If anything, it made him appear even more harmless and sweet.</p><p>“Thanks. I am quite interested in the nethicite energies. If you ever stumble upon a book or something that features it, I would welcome any information.” As Jongho stretched his bones, he noticed that he was slightly taller than Yeosang. With them standing so close together, the little height he had on the man and the fruity smell that permeated the air around him intensified.</p><p>“Got it, I will remember that. I also got you a book on airships in there that Seonghwa loves a lot. He said maybe you would find it interesting, as a mechanic.”</p><p>Yeosang’s bashful smile pushed all thought of paranoia about Seonghwa knowing that Jongho dropped by sometimes out of Jongho’s mind. The smile suited Yeosang’s carved features more than the frown or pout he sported most of the time.</p><p>“For sure. Thanks a lot.”</p><p>After he shouldered the bag, Jongho stepped towards the door that led to the library. Lost, Yeosang remained in the room and waved his hand in an awkward farewell.</p><p>“Come back soon. I’ll wait here.”</p><p>Jongho didn’t know how to interpret these words if not with loneliness. He had come back out of intrigue and the need for money, but for Yeosang, it was wisdom and company that he sought from the man.</p><p>“I will.”</p><p>This time, Jongho didn’t have to rethink the choice. He would come back at least once more to learn about Yeosang just how he studied him.</p><p>As he stepped out into the library, everything was quiet. Yeosang made no noise behind his door to the point that Jongho wondered if he had suddenly evaporated. Pale moonlight fell through the rounded window that pointed towards the forest in the distance. The smell of books - old and new ones - hung heavily in the air and was accompanied by a faint note of burnt candles.</p><p>Jongho ran into someone once he stepped out onto the corridor. The man had moved with the guardedness of a cat and caused not a single commotion as he halted. For a second, he and Jongho observed each other as if they were predators about to get into a deadly fight.</p><p>Then, the tall and dark-haired man lifted the left corner of his mouth. It pulled his lips into a crooked smirk that held no malicious intent. He looked friendly, and if Jongho might say so, even a tad bit out of place.</p><p>“You must be Jongho, then. Nice to meet you,” he greeted with a low but pleasant voice. In Zey, low voices meant danger and lies. This man’s voice was soothing like a river.</p><p>Jongho rose his brow at him.</p><p>“No sounding the alarm? I suppose you might be the prince I heard so much about.”</p><p>Seonghwa grasped his hands behind his back. His shoulders squared from how straight his position was. The grey and white uniform he wore accentuated his shapes and some golden badges that Jongho didn’t know the meaning of glinted on his lapel.</p><p>“That is quite true. My dear brother wouldn’t forgive me if I were to throw you into a cell.”</p><p>Jongho tried not to be too judgemental since this was Yeosang’s brother, but even with the expensive sword that hung from his belt with its ornate hilt, Jongho didn’t trust the man to win against him. Seonghwa was lean and delicate, if not as much as his brother. Jongho could see their semblance.</p><p>“I appreciate your loyalty. I will make sure not to abuse it.”</p><p>Seonghwa smirked at him again. Like paint, it stuck to his face. His muscles must hurt.</p><p>“I’d rather have you clean out all the old cupboards of items than hurt my brother, yes. If that ever were to change, my opinion might, too.” He was a smooth-talker, an obviously charming man. Jongho saw the potential of him as a leader. But would he ever be, that was the question. Was he strong enough to withstand?</p><p>Seonghwa continued before Jongho had time to retort.</p><p>“Hearing him speak so highly of you I’m glad he found a friend after all this time. Even if he came in through a window. But I suppose that even windows sometimes offer fortune.”</p><p>He politely bowed his head in front of Jongho. Confused, the other man just stared back at him.</p><p>“Hurry up now. There are guards following me everywhere. I will go right, so I advise you to take a left turn.”</p><p>With that, the prince disappeared in the corridor. The clacking of his heels on the ground echoed through the high halls eerily.</p><p>Jongho turned to search Mingi. He took a left turn and met not a single guard on his way.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Clockwork Sparrow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the newest supply of medicine would last Jongho's father for at least four weeks. </p><p>Jongho met regularly with Mingi, and the two hung out together to spend some time outside of work and talk about their families. After a while, Jongho met Mingi's little siblings, and the man helped him perfect his grappling hook. It created a practical addition to Jongho's gadgets.</p><p>After his last trip to Asora, he had also handed his father the book on airship mechanics. Yeosang had planned for him to use it first, but since Jongho related to his father's intense boredom in the hours he spent curled up in his bed, he had switched up the order. His father enjoyed it in the dark evenings when Jongho sat at his workbench with his goggles on his face and worked on his newest project. Sometimes, he spoke up to inform Jongho of a fact that he found particularly interesting and Jongho always listened with the utmost attention.</p><p>Winter had begun to roam the streets. Zey's shady ghettos darkened with the lack of the light of day when the sun remained hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds. Jongho had yet to taste the cold of snow on his tongue, but the air already smelled of the dreaded time of the year.</p><p>Since they were close to the ocean, they were more likely to be flooded by masses of icy rain than experience much snow. It came as a curse and a blessing at the same time. The people out on the streets were less likely to die of the cold, but each corner of the city would be wet and create a breeding ground for diseases.</p><p>Mingi had told a worried Jongho that he would be safe and that no drop of water would be able to reach him down in his hideout. Since he worried about Jongho just the same, he had also offered for him to find protection in his bunker whenever he needed to. If the necessity arose, he would even carry Jongho's father down there to shield them from the cold temperatures. </p><p>Jongho had thanked him for the offer, but he was positive that they would make it through just fine. Since his mother and Yunho were gone, they always had a blanket more to spare that they could huddle under.</p><p>In the mornings, when Jongho ran through the frozen streets, thin layers of ice created death traps at every corner. It was the time of the year where the automatons were less likely to catch up with flighty criminals, but also more inclined to shoot innocent people when their transportation balls slipped while they fired. </p><p>In winter, Jongho's spirits animated because of the white steam that rose from his gadgets at any times. In addition to the little puffs that evaporated in the air through his mask, it created the illusion of him as a mechanical being with supernatural powers just like the automatons were. He enjoyed pretending to be strong like them. The little act alleviated the dejection of being on the lower end of the food chain.</p><p>Zey warmed itself with its factories. Despite the cold winds that howled between the alleys, the dense urban lifestyle, and the heat of the steam-generated machines saved them some warmth. The veil of clouds that separated them from the aether of the skies stored the precious heat within Zey.</p><p>Asora with its mighty towers and large spaces would be colder. Jongho hoped that Yeosang wouldn't freeze. His room could get quite chilly, after all.</p><p>Jongho started to wear a warmer scarf for his deliveries. The thick fabric didn't serve as a mask well, so he got a new one that wrapped around his ears snugly and protected his face from the chilling cold and the smog. He was comfortably warm around his neck even when the cold sometimes crept through his jacket and into his very bone. As long as he sprinted over the flat roofs of Zey, he wouldn't freeze.</p><p>Jongho's father was glad whenever he returned safely. He himself had survived his fair share of accidents when the treacherous ice on the streets had tripped him up. So every day without an incident was a win. </p><p>In winter, they ate soup often. They enjoyed huddling together and sit with their thighs and shoulders aligned on their cold ground as they enjoyed the warm meal. The vendor near their corner made delicious soup for low prices. It worked magic to give lufe back to their weary bodies.</p><p>Jongho showed his father his newest project during dinner. Today was one of the darkest evenings in the week, so Jongho had finished his deliveries early and returned home with their soup. As he sat the noodle broth down in front of his father, he fetched the little heap of metal from his desk.</p><p>"Take a look. What do you think?"</p><p>He handed it over while Jongho went to unpack their food. As he swiftly washed their spoons, his father gave a tentative hum.</p><p>"It's a bird, isn't it? Will you add the other wing?"</p><p>Jongho didn't bother to dry the spoons off. He merely shook the water droplets away and came back. Their room was dark. They had to hang a bag over their only window in winter to keep the cold from sneaking its icy tendrils inside at night. </p><p>"Yeah. I had to leave it out for the mechanisms. I want it airborne."</p><p>His father twisted and turned the object in his hands. With great caution, the pads of his bony fingers swept over the brass cogs and wires.</p><p>"Will those eyes be luminous? You built it around a music box, didn't you?"</p><p>Jongho's hands were busy with sorting their bowls and spoons in front of each person. Instead of his fingers, he nodded his chin at the little glass eyes of the unfinished creature.</p><p>"Phosphorescent if it complies as it should. It would be weird to have them light up during the day. And yeah. This one is a present for a friend. Do you think he will like it?"</p><p>His father put the piece in front of them so they could further regard it while they ate. As he picked up his spoon, he hummed approvingly.</p><p>"It's for Mingi, right? I think he will. He's a good guy; he deserves some company while he works."</p><p>Jongho nodded around his first bite of noodles. As usual, they were soggy with broth and slightly bland, but he loved them all the same.</p><p>"He's been building a blunderbuss recently. Time to mention the good sides of life."</p><p>Jongho's father chuckled into his soup. Neither of them could introduce themselves as very optimistic characters, but they recognised a moment of peace when it appeared.</p><p>"If you struggle with the linkage between the torso and the last wing, tell me. I might be able to help." With a last glance at the bird, Jongho's father shifted his focus on his food entirely. Jongho did, too.</p><p>They warmed their bodies with the soup and shared merry conversation once both finished. Jongho's father was in excellent condition today, and his mood stayed gleeful when Jongho brought him over to his bed. </p><p>"I must say, palace books are something else. I had such fun reading through the first few chapters even though it's mostly just information. Did you know that the valves on a blimp can clog and the pressure inside the ballot might become so intense that they have to slash the outer layer open and ruin the whole airship in order to evacuate?"</p><p>Jongho made a surprised noise as he tucked in the blanket around his father.</p><p>"Zounds, that sounds horrible. Imagine being the mechanic who has to make that decision. All blame will fall on you, even if the valve suffered because of propulsion."</p><p>He wasn't too surprised. Airships were a risky trend, and even if most of them flew safely with nethicite energies as their main fuel, the accidents that sometimes occurred didn't only affect the whole crew. Depending on where a falling and ablaze airship came down, it might even wipe out a whole village.</p><p>Jongho's father took his medicine with determination. His attention was on his book already as he gulped down the bitter mixture. Once he was done, Jongho put his mug away and went back to work.</p><p>"He writes how the doxies loved him. Maybe if you became air captain, then the women would swarm towards you like birds."</p><p>Jongho sat down on his chair and wrapped his jacket around his shoulders loosely. As he pulled his goggles over his head and adjusted the lens, his father scoffed sarcastically as if Jongho not having a woman by his side was the biggest crime he could commit.</p><p>Accessorized with his wrench and pliers, Jongho ceaselessly weaved into his usual working pattern. </p><p>"Maybe I should. If they are into iron and skulduggery, then I might fit right in."</p><p>Both of them sunk into their occupation. Jongho's father dropped facts and comments on his readings from time to time, and Jongho kept adjusting his arm gear to use the right amount of strength and precision needed to link the tiny cogs. </p><p>Whenever Jongho stretched back over his chair to roll his shoulders or stretch his arms, his father suggested for him to take a break. However, in his stubbornness to hear the satisfying hiss of the tiny cogs running tonight already, he powered through.</p><p>He interrupted his work only to turn on the music bunny for his father. With its sweet melody lulling him to sleep, even Jongho could feel the effect of the vexing tunes.</p><p>He had the bird flap one of its wings weakly and the cogs congested twice on the way, but it was something. During the night, he slipped into his jacket more and more when the stored warmth of both his and his father's bodies started cooling at their inactivity.</p><p>Before Jongho crawled into bed to his father, he put the bird next to the bunny. He had never intended for it to be a present for Mingi. Rather than his close friend, he wanted to gift it to Yeosang. For Jongho, a bird was a symbol of freedom and soaring heights. His wish to fly could only be helped by an airship, but birds could go wherever they wanted, whenever they pleased. </p><p>Since Yeosang was locked up so lonely and cut from freedom, Jongho wanted to remind him of its meaning. It also served as a little thanks for the help that Yeosang had graced Jongho with. If he was lucky, then Yeosang might blush a bit at receiving it. A subconscious grin formed on Jongho's lips at the thought of it.</p><p>Nonetheless, telling his father about Asora was a bad idea, hence the secrecy. </p><p>Jongho shut off his little working lamp before he went to bed. With the book open on his chest, his father had fallen asleep. His quiet snores rattled in his throat and had Jongho smile.</p><p>He put the book away and huddled close to his father before Jongho left his conscious in the care of dreams that led him out of Zey.</p><p>-</p><p>When Jongho awoke the next morning, the cold had crept inside their room despite the safety measures. His father still rested next to Jongho, huddled into the blanket to the point of sharing nearly next to no body heat with his son who was right next to him.</p><p>With a groan, Jongho rolled out of bed and put his naked feet onto the chilly floor. He shivered as he went over to boil some water to warm the two of them up. The whirr of the machine entertained his befuddled mind.</p><p>"Wake up, dad, time for your medicine."</p><p>When no answer came, Jongho decided to let him rest some more. Since yesterday had been a very energetic day for the sick man, Jongho didn't need him to clarify.</p><p>He went to work and finished the rest of the bird. The music box was connected to its crank, the mechanism for the wings coiled without a hitch, and the head had no more holes to fill. </p><p>However, when Jongho turned to ask his father about the linkage between the last wing and the rest of the clockwork item, he found him in the same position as before.</p><p>With a fond sigh, he put the bird down and checked on him.</p><p>He found that his father had died a few hours ago. His body was already cold, and all life was long since taken from him in his sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Afternoon News</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As always, the medicine shop was bathed in a thick cloud of different smells and intoxicating smoke. Usually, coming here meant relief and pride after a long period of hard work. Jongho visited here whenever he completed his deliveries in one piece and gained a few more weeks of life for his father.</p><p>Not today.</p><p>Three days had passed before Jongho had decided to swing by. After his father’s death, he drowned himself in labour so that the loss would not settle too much in his heart. Since he experienced death two times before, too, holding a ritual for his father felt like a chore that he could do in his sleep. First, he took care of the man’s body and carried it to one of the large coal factories. For a low price, they cremated his father and declared their condolences.</p><p>Jongho didn’t contact Mingi to join him at the funeral. He wanted to bid his goodbyes independently, and Mingi could take a break from the sudden emotional reversal.</p><p>With the bunny singing its sad melody, Jongho sat at the cliff. The pot with ashes next to him was open, and from time to time, the ice-cold wind carried some grains off over the ocean.</p><p>Their home felt lonely now. Back when they had lived as four people in the tiny, cramped space, it had always seemed too small and lively for all of them. Jongho remembered his complaints that Yunho took up so much more space than the rest of them. His older brother could only laugh and ruffle his hair for that.</p><p>With his father around, the room had been diluted and filled with anxiety-pregnant air most of the time. But every day, his father had been happy to see him come home.</p><p>Now, whenever Jongho returned there, nobody greeted him. Nobody needed his care and words of affirmation.</p><p>To distract himself from the emptiness in his chest, Jongho pushed all feelings aside and worked instead. He travelled through Zey as usual, and whenever he was home, he thought rationally about the things he could sell or new things he needed.</p><p>Selling his father’s medicine was the last step. It was a major reminder of his condition and struggles, and returning here was closure for Jongho.</p><p>“Oh, back so soon? Do you come for more stocks or did it fall again?” The old lady behind the counter greeted him with kind eyes. Jongho managed a tired smile before he sat down the box with powder on the table.</p><p>“Thank you for prolonging his time for so long. I greatly appreciate it. It seems as if I got over-confident in my planning.”</p><p>When understanding dawned upon her, her lips pursed into a sad line. No words of consolation could turn back time, and neither of them was surprised. All this time, it had been obvious that it would end here.</p><p>Wordlessly, she reached for the bag and began weighing the medicine. Some vendors didn’t like to exchange their goods back, but Jongho was glad that she treated it fairly.</p><p>“What will you do now? Your life and working schedule all resolved around your family. Will you continue?” She purposefully lowered her voice to a respectful murmur. Jongho’s eyes were unfocused as he watched her work.</p><p>He had no idea.</p><p>There was nothing to do for him. He lacked anything that held him to Zey now. He could jump an airship and fly off; he could take a carriage into the bustling city in the north. He could freely change his surroundings to somewhere that allowed him to live well and climb the social ladder as long as he worked hard.</p><p>Shrugging, he pushed his unwashed hair back.</p><p>“I’ll wait and see; it’s too soon to tell.”</p><p>She finished her task quickly and handed him his money. Now that he didn’t have to buy medicines from it, it felt like a fortune in his hand. What would he buy from it?</p><p>Jongho faltered. For a moment, he stood at the counter, lost.</p><p>“I would be happy if you still came by sometimes, even if just to chat. I will miss seeing your handsome face here.” The vendor’s kind words startled Jongho out of his trance. Weak, he smiled.</p><p>“I’ll try to. Your husband always has scrap I might need.”</p><p>He tapped his finger against his forehead before he left. In return, her worried voice bid him a healing week.</p><p>Icy wind crawled into his open jacket as soon as he left the parlour. It was cold enough to make him shiver on a normal day, but today he just buttoned his coat shut and huddled his head between his shoulders.</p><p>He had another delivery to make and meet up with Youjin in the evening to collect his reward.</p><p>For now, he could busy himself with that.</p><p>-</p><p>Jongho’s limbs were stiff and cramped from the cold by the time he got home. As usual, Youjin had been a talkative mess that didn’t know when to shut up. Since he and Jongho were not close enough to share his loss with the coworker, Jongho endured it with a grumpy face and a frown. By the time the other man had finally let him go, Jongho’s stomach had roared with cramping hunger.</p><p>Just like a few days prior, Jongho visited the vendor at the street corner to get himself some soup. Eating the whole serving for himself, including the share he would usually split with his father befuddled his mind.</p><p>Jongho was in the middle of slurping his food and reading the airship book on the side to that he could return it soon when a hasty knock on the door distracted him. Immediately, he broke from finding the spots in the text that his father had pointed out to him while he barely skimmed the rest.</p><p>His broth stood hot and steaming on the working bench that he used as a table when he ate alone. Its smell lingered in his room and lifted his spirits a little as he went to open the door the barest bit to peek outside.</p><p>It was Mingi.</p><p>Surprised to see the man around after the curfew, Jongho pulled the door open wide to usher him in. No automatons were nearby, so the tall man seemed to have evaded them with luck watching over him like a guardian angel.</p><p>“Mingi! What brings you here in the middle of the night?” Since Mingi was a friend, Jongho allowed himself to show some confusion. Shifting nervously, Mingi abruptly decided to strip from his coat. He nearly whacked Jongho in the face from how jerky his movements were.</p><p>“I came to talk about the news. Surely, you must have heard?”</p><p>Jongho slowly shook his head. His face resembled a question mark. He hadn’t encountered any information that was important enough to ignore the curfew over it today from what he remembered.</p><p>“I was busy, no.”</p><p>Mingi nodded quickly while he put down the jacket over the chair Jongho had been perched on just a moment ago.</p><p>“I will tell you then. But maybe once your dad sleeps, I’m not sure how much he should hear of this.” Mingi turned to swipe his searching eyes over the empty bed. In an attempt to imitate some organisation in his life, Jongho had neatly made the covers and fluffed the pillow. Both of them fell quiet at the lack of a person in the bed.</p><p>With a face that was so open and honest that it physically pained Jongho’s heart, Mingi glanced at Jongho. The question was written on his features, but his lips didn’t dare utter the forbidden words.</p><p>Jongho exhaled.</p><p>“Let’s sit. Do you mind if I eat on the side?”</p><p>“No, no, do whatever you want.”</p><p>Mingi’s voice was dull and breathy. Like a gust of wind, the words escaped him. Then, he shut right back up as he tucked his long legs beneath his body. Both were thankful he didn’t address the elephant - or lack of such - in the room.</p><p>Jongho brought his soup over and sat opposite of him. While he continued to slurp his warm noodles, his eyes held onto Mingi. The man’s hair was wild from the wind and his fingers, and his eyes had a haunted look in them.</p><p>“Something bad happened. I hurried right here after I did my research.”</p><p>Mingi had just sat down relatively calmly to worry on his lips and fingernails when he already shifted again. He pulled a newspaper from his coat and held it in trembling hands. When he didn’t hand it over, Jongho rose his brow mid-bite.</p><p>“Prince Seonghwa died last night.”</p><p>Jongho bit his cheek.</p><p>Speechless, he stared at his friend as if he had tried to sell him that flying trains existed.</p><p>What the hell was happening in the world right now? First his father, and two days later Seonghwa?</p><p>Even if his emotional attachment to Seonghwa was low, the news hit him like a shot.</p><p>“I know, I made the exact same face. The royal family opened up about it this morning, and it’s all over the afternoon paper already,” Mingi continued. His hands fumbled uncharacteristically clumsy with the sheet. After he accidentally crumpled up the page in the progress, he tried to smooth it out in front of Jongho. The soup was forgotten as he leaned over the article.</p><p>“They say that an intruder murdered him. According to them, it must have been an assassin from either a hostile army or some rebel from Zey. The Undying is furious, and the whole palace has shut down. Asora has been crying all day.”</p><p>Mingi’s voice was disturbed, just like it carried urgency. His fingers urgently tapped onto a paragraph in the column.</p><p>“Here, they write that the loss of his only son pushes the Undying in another period of unforeseen rule. Do you think something happened to Yeosang, too?”</p><p>Jongho’s mind was reeling.</p><p>If somebody targeted the princes, then chances were they either didn’t know of Yeosang or didn’t see him as a threat. However, if the person had gotten close enough to Seonghwa to kill him, they might know.</p><p>Jongho’s body was chillingly cold, but he felt feverish at the same time. Fear consumed him.</p><p>Just as overwhelmed, Mingi continued to babble.</p><p>“I also talked to the badgers on the main street. Most of them found the incident greatly amusing. They said the king got what he deserved by losing one of his brood himself. A lot of them found hope since they believe in whatever enemy is out for them. But Seonghwa- He didn’t deserve that fate!”</p><p>Empty, Jongho stared into the bowl of soup that cooled with the seconds passing.</p><p>“Yeosang must be devastated… Seonghwa was the only one that looked after him.” His hollow voice slipped into the dark corners of the room as if it had to hide from the gruesome truth. Jongho envied its ability to sneak away and vanish into nothingness.</p><p>“I’m worried about him, too. Blimey, what if whoever this person is, is out for Yeosang, too?! We should check on him as soon as possible!”</p><p>The fact that Mingi voiced the same worry that had etched itself into Jongho’s brain got him all the more anxious.</p><p>“It’s probably difficult to get in when they are all in commotion, right?”</p><p>Mingi nodded seriously.</p><p>“They wrote that they would tighten security, too. We have to give it a few days before we can consider going. I hope he’ll be safe. Since nobody knows of him or talks about him, we have no way to make sure if we don’t check in person.”</p><p>The chilly air that radiated from the windows made both of them tense with shivers. Neither warmth nor joy permeated the heavy cold.</p><p>“Keep an eye out on the palace, then. As soon as it’s safe to go, we’ll set out,” Jongho gruffly said to wrap up the topic. The issue gave much food for thought, and now that Jongho was alone, he had all the time to ponder it.</p><p>“Stay safe. I bet it’s only days before they will try to blame it on Zey. The automatons might get calibrated just a bit crueller.” Mingi put the newspaper away again. Jongho nodded as he stood and fetched the other man a spoon.</p><p>“Then you can sleep here. I don’t need another victim tonight.”</p><p>Mingi’s worried eyes flooded with gratitude. As they shared the lukewarm soup, both of them were deeply lost in thought.</p><p>Jongho had to plan how he could see Yeosang and make sure that he wouldn’t become a target of political misconducts after this incident. As he laid next to Mingi later who slept like a stone, he barely found any sleep from how concerned he was for the librarian.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Radio Silence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongho roused before Mingi. By the time his companion greeted the light of day, Jongho had previously rustled up some breakfast for the two of them. While he nursed a cup of tea and his brooding thoughts, Mingi still slumbered civilly in his bed. The fruity smell of the tea woke him inevitably and tickled his nose until he turned under the covers with a noise of discomfort.</p><p>From his place at his working bench, Jongho chuckled at the theatre. All morning long, his eyes had burned with tiredness. After the news about Seonghwa's passing, he had barely found any sleep. His dreams were fleeting and haunted by dark shadows. They scared Jongho, and he dove from his bed sweaty and with clammy skin. From then on, he tinkered inaudibly with the bird that was supposed to be a gift to Yeosang.</p><p>Now that the new regulations around the palace greatly inconvenienced Jongho's ability to break in, he couldn't possibly foresee the moment he would be able to deliver the gift in person. The castle needed a few days to calm its racing heartbeat, and until then, Jongho would trust in whatever sources they found in Zey on the matter.</p><p>Once Mingi spotted him on his chair, he greeted Jongho with a dopey smile. His hair was wild from sleep, and his eyes had yet to open to the dim light of a naturally dark winter day.</p><p>"Help yourself with the food. I count on your help later to get some more intel now that the first shock settled."</p><p>"So many words for such an early time." Mingi frowned, as his sleep-befuddled brain tried to catch up with the genius that Jongho was. Both of them had to laugh about each other.</p><p>Mingi rolled out of bed after a while and joined Jongho at his working space. While he wolfed down his portion of the food, he commented engrossed in Jongho's current projects with full cheeks. Not minding his slurps in the least, Jongho explained as much as he could.</p><p>"I'm burning with curiosity. What if there's a grand scheme behind this all? Asora signed a treaty with the northern countries that fought in the war against us, but what if they are going the secretive route to winning? I need to know."</p><p>Mingi's interest for politics contradicted Jongho's mostly uncaring self, but since sweet little Yeosang was involved, he also found himself guarded. While he had no emotional ties to the man compared to Zey and their own lives, Jongho also disapproved of any bad headlines regarding the gentle prince.</p><p>"Let's go out and ask around, then. I'm sure the people travelling between the cities on land have information on whatever might lie in wait there." Jongho put his tools down and pushed his goggles off his face. As he stood, his gadgets naturally shifted to accommodate his new position. Mingi observed the process with shining eyes.</p><p>"I just have to put on warmer clothes. I'll be done in a second."</p><p>Once Jongho was equipped with his warm winter garments and his one scarf, he and Mingi set out on the streets of Asora. The water that steadily dripped from various roofs and windowsills onto the entrance area of the houses had frozen on the stairs. It almost tripped up Jongho, and Mingi slid down two steps at a time.</p><p>With some warnings towards each other dropped here and there, they made it down the stairs safely. Immediately, the cold and grizzled walls of Zey wrapped around them like a protective layer. Instead of the shadows, Jongho preferred to march in the middle of the street when he was with someone. If Mingi walked next to him, Jongho could have a better eye on him. Zey's people evaded the tall man with the wild red hair and the imposing long coat.</p><p>With stiff shoulders, Jongho passed one of the patrolling automatons as he rounded the corner to the main street and glanced over the plethora of shady stands with even shadier vendors inside that offered their wares.</p><p>"Where do you want to start?"</p><p>Mingi took advantage of the height he had on Jongho to glance even further over his head.</p><p>"Behind the fortune teller. Her services are expensive but some of the best to reflect."</p><p>Mingi sounded more reserved in public. His usually playful and charming ego shifted to the same tense cynicism that any inhabitant of Zey had. Like this, he intimidated the folks around him. Jongho couldn't complain, he glared at them just as hard.</p><p>They rounded some attentive customers that loitered around the parlours and slipped in the alley next to where the old hag offered palm readings for downright revolting prices. Side by side, they lingered at the freezing wall.</p><p>The woman left them there to practice patience for a moment. Once the coast was clear, and no customer approached her, she slunk over. Her bony wrists that peeked out from underneath her holey jacket had Jongho shiver. Once the roar of an airship crossing over Zey had quietened down, she began to hiss her price. Mingi handed the money to her before she finished rattling down her list.</p><p>She pocketed the coins with a suspicious glimpse down the street. No one but them was in sight.</p><p>Her voice croaked from underneath her hood like an old machine that hadn't been oiled in years. It had an uncomfortable scratch to it, like fingernails on metal.</p><p>"What do ye boys need to know?"</p><p>Mingi took the lead. His back rested against the stone wall, and he had crossed his arms in an epitome of cool nonchalance.</p><p>"The crown prince. What do you know about his assassination? Is one of the guilds behind this?"</p><p>The wench swayed her head left and right until her neck cracked. A distinct sickenly sweet smell of incense wafted around her like an aura of odd interests. Jongho inhaled deeply through his mouth. Whatever she mixed it with to make her guests droopy and reach a high, he didn't intend to breathe it in. Mingi subtly copied him.</p><p>The woman in front of them laughed huskily. Her mouth - unprotected from any mask - opened in a dark smile that lacked some teeth. Despite her smile, she lacked all emotion. No joy reached her lips, and even her eyes kept its hard and penetrating stare.</p><p>"The murder? Ah, it rattled Asora's bones as they deserved. People say that the reason was entirely political. No grudges held." Again, her heartless laugh. Jongho squinted his eyes at her. He left the talking to Mingi still, so that they wouldn't seem too defensive of Seonghwa.</p><p>"Was it an attack from an enemy? Are they among us?"</p><p>"Oh, we have quite some characters among us. They lurk around the corners and await their chance to attack. But this was not them. Asorazey shed its own blood that night. Will the king blame it on Zey, I wonder? We might all get mass-murdered tomorrow if he so chooses. Ye boys should stay in for a while."</p><p>Her manic laughter had some inquisitive passerby glance at them sharply. Uncomfortable, Jongho looked around.</p><p>The enemy supervised them? Were they around Zey, too? Or was their plan to wipe out the whole city without regard for which sides the people were on? Whatever their plans, Jongho was now extraordinarily tense after the lesson.</p><p>"Better return to your post. I think another person asks for your services."</p><p>Jongho regarded Mingi's decisions from his peripherals. As the woman scurried off with another bone-chilling giggle, she left the other two boys feeling colder than they were before. Shuddering, Jongho tried to shake the spell off. As vital as her information had been, Jongho would like never to meet her again.</p><p>"She didn't mention the guilds. They might have asked her to keep mute."</p><p>Jongho had done a few errands for the guilds before. They were a bunch of personalities who had gathered to concentrate their hate and displeasure against Asora in the form of rebellious acts against the government. They were the patrons of any Zey resident, but their attacks on the automatons or some travelling nobles were cruel. They had support in Zey, but they mostly acted subtly so that it couldn't be pinned on particular people.</p><p>If they operated on a grand scale, such as tackling the prince, they compromised everybody's lives. Jongho suspected they might have planned to eradicate the royal family for a while now.</p><p>"Yeah. But if they lurk, and also some hostile agents, then..."</p><p>Mingi thought the same thing.</p><p>"Things get moving. It seems as if the big players assembled here." His voice carried a restless dread that also wrapped its black tendrils around Jongho's heart. He had nothing much to fear for but his own life, and while he had high expectations to see things change, he also apprehended what it might bring. In the worst-case scenario, Zey would end up under even more control from Asora.</p><p>Jongho wasn't a fighter. He believed in nothing but himself, and any grand revolution that tried to recruit him failed on his distrust. If a rebellion broke out, he wouldn't be the mighty hero in front that gathered all attention on himself. No saviour complex and no guilt toward his father would push him towards the face of danger.</p><p>"Let's ask around more. Even if we don't find more on the responsible one yet, we might discover what the guilds are doing. Or thinking about this."</p><p>Once Jongho nodded, Mingi led them out their little corner. The fortune-teller lady at the corner pretended never to have seen them before.</p><p>Zey was cold today. The night had considerably cooled the concrete houses, and since it was still early, the city had yet to restore its heat. At least no unfriendly wind bothered them here. The icy temperatures still bit at Jongho skin.</p><p>Further down the street, some other vendors provided Mingi and Jongho with even less information than before. Not much data had leaked from the palace yet, and most popular facts were based on rumours and gossip.</p><p>The general mood of most people carried schadenfreude and an inappropriate amount of glee about the circumstances. Jongho eyed some women in a corner, wrapped in thin clothes and with cigarettes in their hands to keep their bodies warm instead. They laughed about Seonghwa's demise and jokingly speculated about the possible ways he could have found his end.</p><p>If Jongho didn't know so much about the late prince, he would have taken their side. However, Yeosang and his own encounter with the man had proven to Jongho that Seonghwa was indeed one of the few people in the palace who didn't deserve his fate. His death was a loss for Zey, too, even if its people weren't aware of such.</p><p>Mingi ignored the chattering church bells in favour of leaning over to a nearby auntie that sold self-made pieces of furniture. As she reacted, Jongho hurried over to Mingi's side.</p><p>"The guilds? No, from what I've heard, the prince wasn't one of their targets. They would be foolish to give the king a reason to blame it on Zey." She shook her head about the claim.</p><p>Clueless, Mingi and Jongho found themselves back on the middle of the street. It was filled with bitter people that had reason to smile for once in their lives.</p><p>Jongho was glad that Yeosang wasn't there. From what he had gathered of the man, he resented these kinds of injustice.</p><p>"Where else to search?"</p><p>After a few hours of asking around without attracting too much suspicion, Jongho quickly lost his patience with the lack of solid information. The joy of the folk irked him to point out the truth about Seonghwa's character and that he had most likely been caught up in a web of lies that cost his life. His father undoubtedly would have enjoyed the misery of Asora, too.</p><p>Jongho parted from Mingi in the afternoon. They stood huddled close together in some corner to save some warmth, and Jongho again noticed how Mingi was so much taller than him.</p><p>"I want to see Yeosang. I must confirm his safety. I'm sure that he also has more intel on Seonghwa than anybody else around."</p><p>"Let's wait for another few days. And as soon as the coast is clear, we will check on him." Mingi's voice had dropped to a grave drawl. Jongho frowned but agreed nonetheless. He worried about Yeosang. But at least a little while longer, the delicate librarian had to endure the loneliness.</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Clockwork Guards</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongho tried out his grappling hook for the first time on their way to see Yeosang. With Mingi's supervision, he aimed at the steep canyon wall that gradually blended into abyssal darkness. The hook shot from the sleeve that wrapped around his left arm and embedded itself deep in the stone just how it would for Mingi's weapon. The rope held strong to Jongho's body, but with a small mechanism, he could unhook it and fasten it around the hook on Mingi's door.</p><p>"It's good for a prototype. You have to be careful if you ever use it to pull your whole weight, though. The pressure might rip your shoulder out."</p><p>Jongho nodded as he tested the rope's stability. It could carry their weight, but he should exchange it for a thicker version.</p><p>"Not as if I should try that around Zey anyway. I would kiss a wall within two seconds." Jongho chuckled as he reached up to wrap his fingers around the string. As he climbed his way over, Mingi secured the hook with his fist so that Jongho wouldn't shake in the process. He still paid great attention to avoiding a glance down the eternal darkness to the best of his ability. With secure movements, he transgressed.</p><p>The last fear of height that Jongho might still have carried had by now diminished with how often they had crossed the Chasm by now. With how easy the process was, Jongho even found himself slack at the reminder just how precarious their actions were. With Mingi's hideout down in the blind spot of the automatons, they nearly didn't have to regard any rules of safety at all.</p><p>Several minutes later, Jongho pulled himself over the edge that led to Asora. Unsurprisingly, the city seemed more diluted today. Rather than the usual indifferent and serene atmosphere, death had found its way to every person's house. The city was wrapped in a silence that was so thick and solemn that it nearly swallowed all usual calm. Instead, fear and anxiety stretched over the streets like solid carpets.</p><p>Neither Jongho nor Mingi uttered a single word as they dashed through the streets. As predicted, winter clung to Asora and rushed under the men’s clothes at any given chance. Under shivers and grumbles, the two arrived at the palace walls a while after.</p><p>Asora had always been empty at night when they had been here. Now, it felt entirely ghostly. They didn’t have to search for the path that had no lit windows and night owls milling about. Even if they went down the main lane in a straight path, Asora stayed dark with grief and loss.</p><p>“Remember that security has maxed out. Mind your gauges and let’s try to leave as soon as possible.” Mingi’s deep voice drawled from underneath his hood. Jongho wordlessly put his fingers on the palace wall to climb it. As soon as his head poked over the edge, he could see the first developments in the gardens. The last three times they came here, duos of human guards had walked the wall at regular intervals. They had chatted and laughed on their way and displayed a general loose and casual concern in the safety they were meant to uphold.</p><p>Those guards were gone now. In their stead automatons that seemed unlike the ones that supervised Zey greeted them.</p><p>Jongho regarded them with narrow eyes in the dark.</p><p>Their brass bodies were robust and armoured like the automatons in Zey were. However, they had humanoid shapes thicker and elongated to give them more superiority over regular humans. He couldn’t discern their faces well, but their eerily blue glowing eyes hinted at the use of nethicite energy.</p><p>Whatever weapons those robots carried, they more powerful than anything Jongho could imagine.</p><p>“They secure every entrance. We have to go in another way.”</p><p>Mingi hung flattened against the fence next to Jongho. They stuck their heads together to muffle their whispers.</p><p>“Do you think they might be stationed inside the facilities, too?”</p><p>Mingi huffed insecurely. His jaw gritted with determination.</p><p>“In the corridors, maybe.”</p><p>Jongho agreed with a nod. “I can’t imagine that Yeosang would want one of those spooky scarecrows next to his bed while he sleeps. He has a tree in front of his window. Maybe we can  enter from there.”</p><p>Mingi’s expression swapped into a cold trust. He nodded his chin towards the general direction of Yeosang’s room.</p><p>“Lead the way.”</p><p>Jongho didn’t pause even for a second as he climbed along the solid stone wall. His fingers dug into the cold concrete as he made his way over to the darker and hidden parts of the gardens. Fewer guards were around here, but their eerie presence distracted Jongho anyway. If there was time, he should try to steal some parts of their bodies for reference.</p><p>Icy winds pulled on the humans' clothes as if it tried to rip their bodies off the wall. Jongho hoped that Mingi was partly protected from them since Jongho’s broad frame took most of the initial contact.</p><p>Now that they approached the backside of the castle, Jongho was glad to have sneaked around it enough that he could approximately pinpoint the position of Yeosang’s room. Once he spotted the correct tree, he quietly pointed it out to Mingi.</p><p>If it weren’t for the cold, he would probably brim with sweat from how dangerously close some automatons’ eyes seemed to stray. If anything, the clammy layer of cooled sweat added to the risk of catching a cold.</p><p>“What now?” Jongho found himself lost. As soon as they dropped into the orderly cut grass, the robots would spot them and end them with no mercy. Between them and Yeosang’s tree was still a lot of free space to get caught in.</p><p>Mingi responded with a hand signal that meant for Jongho to stay patient for a while longer. As he fumbled in the pockets of his coat, Jongho kept watch on the disinterested automatons.</p><p>In the end, all that Mingi produced the depths of his coat was a handful of screws. He handed Jongho a few.</p><p>“Try to hit his window. If he opens it, they will focus on him, and he might have an idea of how we can get over there.”</p><p>Their hushed hisses at each other drowned in the background noise of waves that crashed against the cliffs and the wind howling around the buildings. Jongho snatched one of the screws and aimed at the window.</p><p>His first hit missed, but Mingi made his goal. With a resounding click, the metal collided with the glass. Immediately, Mingi and Jongho ducked behind the wall as the automatons came to life. Two of the near ones wandered over with jerky movements. Steam hissed around their bodies like distracting clouds.</p><p>They looked around the grasses for a moment. When they detected no signs of trouble, they resumed milling around aimlessly.</p><p>Jongho threw another screw against the window. No response still. The automatons glanced at the skies and along the wall that he and Mingi were hiding behind.</p><p>Once the third screw clacked against the glass, a pale blue light flashed behind it. Jongho’s heart skipped a beat when a Yeosang-shaped shadow appeared behind the window.</p><p>He was safe. Nobody had touched him.</p><p>Yeosang opened the shutter with slow movements. The window appeared to be heavy for him and got stuck multiple times. Once it was open far enough for him to look out, he confusedly scanned his surroundings.</p><p>The automatons didn’t mind him since he appeared at the window from inside, not as an intruder. They merely came over to check out the noise. After they scrutinised him for a few seconds with their eerie glowing eyes, they slowly stomped off again.</p><p>Once both turned with perfectly mirrored movements and let the wall out of their sight, Jongho perched himself upon it. He rose his arm high into the air to hastily wave at the man.</p><p>Yeosang immediately spotted him in the dim night that got illuminated by the palace’s constant lightning. Like a rabbit, he startled and froze in his movement.</p><p>Jongho continued to wave and gesticulate until Yeosang would notice that it was him. It took the man an embarrassingly long time until he at once waved back.</p><p>Relieved, Jongho pointed at him and then at Yeosang. Lastly, he gestured at the robots that were the real issue.</p><p>Yeosang understood.</p><p>He disappeared from his window without further information. His light went out. Tense, Jongho waited next to Mingi.</p><p>Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. By the time Yeosang reappeared, the cold had frozen Jongho’s fingers stiff and numb even through his gloves.</p><p>“In the middle of the night?! Yeo, this is madness!”</p><p>Jongho’s head snapped towards the source of the commotion. Two people emerged from the entrance that Mingi and Jongho normally utilised to enter the palace.</p><p>“Nonsense. I decided I wanted to check this out, so I will. See, they follow us anyway, nothing to be afraid about.”</p><p>In the dim lamp that hung above the entrance, Jongho could spot two young men in their sleeping robes and with coats hastily thrown over them. One of them was Yeosang with his messy blonde hair; the other one was some dark-haired kid that Jongho had never seen before. Curious, he tilted his head.</p><p>“See, they exchange roles. The one from inside will wait for me there, and here, there’s another one. I’m safe, and you are, too.” Yeosang’s voice was calming on Jongho’s nerves, even in the distance.</p><p>Mingi nudged him when the automatons - stirred by the sudden visit of the two talkative men - gradually moved from their positions. Since the door was near, those two stuck to them so that the one next to the door could keep its post.</p><p>It was smart. Yeosang slowly lured them further away from the dark gardens and his window that was still wide open.</p><p>“Glorious. Let’s move before they return.”</p><p>Mingi went first, and Jongho’s boots thumped onto the soft grass right behind him. Within seconds, they crossed through the gardens and stood beneath Yeosang’s window. Again, Jongho used his grappling hook. It fastened on the lower edge of the opening and offered a comfortable way inside.</p><p>Mingi climbed in first. His hands and legs wrapped around the rope with practised confidence, and his coat swayed behind him when he disappeared within a few seconds. Jongho followed suit.</p><p>Once inside Yeosang’s room, Jongho carefully and without sound collected the hook. He sat down by Yeosang’s table in wait and opened the compartment for the rope to put it away once more.</p><p>Mingi stood in the middle of the room helplessly for a second. He seemed too big for this chamber, and at the end, he settled on the edge of Yeosang’s bed with his legs spread and tall form relaxed. He exhaled quietly.</p><p>“I don’t even know where to search for clues today. With this level of security around… Ever got shot by a pneumatic weapon? That bloody hurts. When there is no Seonghwa to follow and eavesdrop on, then who do I target?”</p><p>Jongho had no answer either. He hoped that Yeosang would be able to resolve most of the mystery. In that case, they also wouldn’t need to endanger their lives for another second.</p><p>As they anticipated the librarian's return, Jongho frowned at how cold Yeosang’s room was. The open window that let in the crisp night air surely supplied to the case, but even apart from that, it was freezing. From how it felt, the cold had been here the whole day and never left even once.</p><p>Even his home in Zey felt more heated than this. The old palace walls insulated next to no warmth. Judging from the thick clothes strewn around, Yeosang instead had to bundle up while he slept.</p><p>Both he and Mingi rose their heads when they heard voices in the library. Yeosang said bye to someone in the corridor.</p><p>“Yes, thanks, I just needed that fresh air. I won’t bother you every night with it, Wooyoung. I know you’re busy, even when stationed here in the outmost corner of the dusty attic.” He chuckled before wishing his grumbly friend a good night. They parted, and only a single pair of steps came over to the room.</p><p>Mingi tensed attentively.</p><p>Yeosang allowed himself in with quiet steps. His cautious eyes found Mingi first, and then also Jongho. Before anything else, he passed Jongho and closed the window. Mingi respectfully retracted his long legs once Yeosang stood nearby.</p><p>Only when the shutter was sealed, Yeosang swerved to look at the two men. The slivers of light from outside had all of them squinting at each other in the pale moonlight.</p><p>“What a bad time to pay a visit.” His voice was weak as he greeted Jongho. In the dark, the mechanic mustered his most convincing smile.</p><p>“We thought you might need it.”</p><p>With a disbelieving turn of his head, Yeosang sat down nearby Mingi. Both glanced at each other awkwardly.</p><p>“I sure did. Good to see you, Jongho. First of all, how dare you go through my notebook?” His amused voice lacked any anger. Jongho liked how his name rolled off the other man’s tongue.</p><p>Yeosang sounded tired, but at the same time alleviated to see him again. As he got more comfortable, Jongho made it his goal to raise the man’s spirits.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Intrigues</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yeosang wasn’t too angry at Jongho for writing his name down in his book. In accordance to the information he had given Yeosang about Zey, he had a natural right success to that kind of data. After Yeosang had pretended not to blush at the thought of Jongho examining the drawings he did of him, he had complimented him on his handwriting instead.</p><p>The librarian had calmed considerably after the initial awkwardness of introducing Mingi to him, and then made sure they all sat in corners of the room where they couldn’t be spotted from outside before he turned on the light again. Mingi’s hair looked dark in the contrasting shine.</p><p>“I also don’t have to stick to you guys all evening. If you tell me how I can sneak around those automatons outside, then I will leave you two to the talking.”</p><p>Mingi’s voice gave his discomfort at his intrusion right away. If Yeosang noticed it, he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he gave a grave nod, understanding of the issue.</p><p>“There are two of them in this building. One patrols on the lower level and the other one the corridors. If you manage to slip around them, you can explore. But be careful, the door to the main palace is sealed shut, so don’t stray too far.”</p><p>Mingi rose and tapped his forehead like a salute in the same movement. He slipped out into the library on quiet soles. Worried, Jongho stared after him, but he decided that Mingi was trustworthy. Whenever they had run into troubles before, Mingi had been reliable and found his way out. Jongho didn’t doubt his smartness over the automatons.</p><p>“They barricaded the door?” As he inclined his head in Yeosang’s direction, the man had already huddled under his blanket anew. He held it over his lap and kneaded it as a cat would. Jongho detected dark circles underneath his eyes and stiffness to his lips, but his expression was gentle as always.</p><p>“Of course. Seonghwa was the only one who used it.” He stared intently at his fingers that clutched the blanket as if it were his sole anchor in life. Jongho didn’t know how to console him, he was bad at compassion. In the time it took him to come up with a mostly intelligent answer, Yeosang continued to talk.</p><p>“It’s also where the Bishops came in. They patrol every centimetre of the grounds. They make me nervous. I don’t like their eyes.”</p><p>With visible concentration, Yeosang unclenched his fingers. Jongho exhaled when his whitened knuckles resumed their original colour. Compared to Yeosang, he dealt with the loss of a loved one very differently. Yeosang’s pain was fresh and palpable in his actions. Jongho had pushed the grief off faster. Again, he found how different the two of them were.</p><p>“Bishops? Is that what they are called?”</p><p>Yeosang took the bait. He turned his attention to the talk about automatons gladly as long as he could keep quiet about Seonghwa.</p><p>“Yes. The ones guarding Zey are Spheres. I expected it to be them that would be stationed here, but then those things appeared… They seem to be a new project of the king. A stronger army, if you will. So that we won’t have to lose the war again.”</p><p>Jongho nearly laughed at the irony. Nothing could bring his brother back, but at least the government had the mind to use robots instead of humans for their killings. For Yeosang’s sake, he swallowed his cynicism.</p><p>“They are extremely unsettling,” he agreed instead, proud at how he had dodged the tight spot. The distance between him and Yeosang was the same as always, but it seemed too cold, too far. Yeosang didn’t look at him. His focus seemed to shift right through Jongho as if something exciting was on the naked wall behind him.</p><p>Jongho cleared his throat.</p><p>“I came to check on you… And hopefully, find some peace. Zey is brimming with spitefulness right now, and the rumours about what could have happened are wild.”</p><p>After a few seconds of silence, Yeosang curiously inclined his head. His eyes met Jongho’s, and even if his expression was dull, he seemed interested.</p><p>“What kind of rumours?”</p><p>“About who… it might have been. We are sure somebody from Zey did it for revenge. Now all of Zey fears the consequences.”</p><p>Understanding, Yeosang hummed. His eyes lowered again to his busy hands that abused the blanket.</p><p>“Zey should fear. I don’t think those rumours are true, though. Seonghwa was extremely well protected and ready for an attack at all times.” Right, he had walked like a man who knew how to protect himself. Jongho faltered.</p><p>“I don’t think that the murderer broke in.”</p><p>“Then-”</p><p>Yeosang quickly interrupted him before Jongho got a chance to share his poisonous thoughts with him. They tasted stale, and like a betrayal.</p><p>“Either way, I need to ask you something. Seonghwa… had a lot of visions, as you might have gathered. Great things he planned to do in his future. Many dreams as a king, even if he never truly desired that role.”</p><p>When he quietened, Jongho sat up straighter. He purposefully softened his voice so that Yeosang didn’t feel irritated by it.</p><p>“What was he dreaming about?”</p><p>“The real Seonghwa wanted to fly. Not to get away, but to feel the wind in his hair and be above the clouds. As a prince, however, he wanted to help Zey. Jongho, how much do you know about the canyon? What is Zey’s opinion on it?”</p><p>Unsure how this question related to Seonghwa, Jongho dug around his mind for an answer. It was less sure than usual since much of his own opinion carried it.</p><p>“We fear it, but at the same time we see it as a blessing that it keeps a line between Asora and us.”</p><p>Restless, Yeosang shook his head. He leaned forward on his bed and put his elbows on his knees. As his interwoven fingers came to rest under his chin, needy desperation burned on his face.</p><p>“No, what I meant was: did anybody ever dare climb down the canyon? Despite the guards?”</p><p>Jongho was dumbfounded. He found no possible polite way not to look at Yeosang as if he had lost his mind.</p><p>“No, why would we? It’s a certain death trap, even outside of the automatons. There are no supplies there, and no place to rest. An endless drop awaits those who try.” He couldn’t be too sure if Yeosang had ever been allowed to visit the Chasm. From how trapped he seemed, he might have only a vague image of it in his mind.</p><p>“It was what Seonghwa kept saying. Once he became king, he’d have to go down there and fetch something. Something that would restore Asorazey to its old glory.”</p><p>Doubtful, Jongho tried to think of such a thing. No item would be able to do that. Maybe it was something abstract? A sense of purpose, or his courage as a king?</p><p>“Say, Yeosang. Now that he is gone, will they make you the new king?” Despite all the sensibility he tried to put in his question, Yeosang still stiffened. By now, it was clear that he hated the topic of his royal heritage.</p><p>His voice got desperate. As he spoke, his face sunk and his fingers came up to ruffle and pull at his hair. Concerned, Jongho sucked his words up like a sponge.</p><p>“No. I’m safe. Hence why I need to do this, only I can do this. Jongho, I have to climb down the canyon! Whatever Seonghwa has been searching for, I have to find it. I will go mad with those Bishops, and the king, and all the glances they exchange. I- I have a horrible feeling in my gut, and I want to deny it. So, Jongho, please… Please get me out of here. You come from there. You know how to do it. Get me out of here before I get mad.”</p><p>As he rose his bloodshot eyes to Jongho, another message reached him clear as day. As if Yeosang had magical abilities, the thought bore into Jongho’s head, not as his own.</p><p>
  <em>Or get killed. Get me out before they kill me, too.</em>
</p><p>It was all an act. Yeosang was unimportant, not even mentioned in their family books. But he had been close to Seonghwa; he knew things. Whoever had taken Seonghwa’s life might attempt Yeosang’s, too.</p><p>Jongho regarded Yeosang’s open and vulnerable expression. The man’s lower lip trembled and unshed tears glinted in his eyes. Yet, rather than weak, he resembled strength to Jongho. He looked just how Jongho had felt all those months caring for his father. Yeosang, too, fought for his family, and if Jongho could respect something, then it was that.</p><p>Both of them had lost their brothers. And just how Jongho would burn down Asora to avenge Yunho, Yeosang would climb a canyon for Seonghwa.</p><p>His decision was as easy as that.</p><p>“I can do that. In exchange for all the trouble, you went through for me.” Also for being late when Yeosang clearly fell apart around the edges. Jongho wanted to hold him together, but he didn’t know how to.</p><p>Yeosang gave him a broken smile. Gratitude and more emotion than Jongho could express with words shone from it. Jongho’s heart warmed at the good deed he had done.</p><p>When he spoke, his voice was nothing but a whisper.</p><p>“Tonight?”</p><p>Yeosang nodded timidly. His fingers restlessly wove through the blanket again.</p><p>“As soon as possible.”</p><p>That memo was all Jongho needed. He was on his feet within a second, ready to see Yeosang out and show him a world beyond dark palace walls and people that either ignored or terrified him. Everything else, every talk and every question could still wait.</p><p>As he picked up his bag, he abruptly also remembered the bird. He had nearly forgotten about it from how early he packed it into his duffle so he wouldn’t leave it at home once he got to see Yeosang. Now that he thought about it, he swiftly reached into it to retrieve the item.</p><p>“Here, I have something for you. View it as a token of our pact.” His mumbles into his chest would have been inaudible if not for the tranquillity of the room. Yeosang wiped his eyes and sniffed before he stood to close in on Jongho. Both of them hovered about the hand-sized object in Jongho’s careful grip.</p><p>“This is a bird, I thought it might symbolise freedom for you, and uh- you know, you are also breaking out as a bird today. It’s very fitting!”</p><p>Jongho showed him the little crank on the underside that he could turn. He activated the mechanism, and at once, the brass bird that shimmered silvery in the blue light from the moon lamp spread its wings. Soft music played as he took off and flew around the room. Jongho hoped it was calming in some sort, and he watched his creation with a frown, scared that it might drop from the skies.</p><p>“You made him yourself?”</p><p>Awe laced Yeosang’s words as his eyes remained transfixed on the spectacle, too. Absent-mindedly, Jongho nodded.</p><p>“I hope he will bring you some companionship whenever you feel lonely.”</p><p>He was busy staring at the bird, so he missed Yeosang’s movement. From one second to the other, gentle hands found his shoulders, and then a pair of soft lips met his cheek. They lingered there for a mere second before Yeosang sunk back down from his tiptoes as soon as Jongho turned.</p><p>A second passed of speechless hesitation. Then, Yeosang blushed.</p><p>“Oh- I apologise! I don’t know if this was too much given that we don’t know each other well.” Shy, he pulled his hands back, but instead of lifting them off, they trailed down Jongho’s shoulders until they dropped from his chest. They left tingling warmth in their wake.</p><p>In the back of his mind, Jongho was glad that Yeosang had such temperature despite his cold room.</p><p>“You’re fine; I’m not mad.”</p><p>A pause. He had spoken very hastily.</p><p>Then, Yeosang giggled. His tense shoulders dropped as he turned to pack a few of his belongings in a bag. There weren’t many.</p><p>“I’m glad. Now, tell me exactly how we will get out of this place because as much as this terrifies me, I also can’t wait to go.”</p><p>Jongho sat down on the edge of Yeosang’s desk and crossed his arms as he talked. Mingi would return soon enough, and with his help, Jongho was positive that they could bring the librarian away from this dangerous place.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. A Helping Hand</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They parted in their way out. Yeosang went first and distracted the Bishops in the gardens long enough that Mingi and Jongho smoothly escaped over the wall. Earlier when Mingi had come back to find Yeosang bundled up with a scarf and coat next to Jongho in the dark, he had merely invited him to the party. Without further ado, he had adjusted their plan.</p><p>Once outside of the wall, they reversed the act. As Yeosang went back inside, Mingi stirred up some subtle commotion at the front so that Yeosang could flee from his window. Jongho helped him over the obstacle of the fence, and they got swallowed by the night in Asora immediately. Yeosang shivered as they ran through the streets. Worried about his condition, Mingi murmured something about an old coat he still had at home that he could lend him once they were back. Jongho wished he could have done the same, but he was already wearing Yunho’s old jacket that had long since lost any pleasant smell of the man it once carried.</p><p>Jongho could at least promise his friend that Zey would be slightly more protected from the freezing wind. In an attempt to hide his identity in the worst-case scenario and also to shield him from the worst breeze, Mingi and Jongho had taken him in their midst. Jongho carried the man’s bag, too, while Yeosang’s considerably smaller statue followed behind the tall Mingi. Against Jongho’s desperate attempts, he had persisted in carrying his bird. It was his new best friend, and he thought hard about its possible names whenever he didn’t look around the empty streets warily.</p><p>As before, not a single soul travelled Asora during the night. The lack of people worried Yeosang, but it was all the more practical to smoothly reach the canyon. At the sight of the gaping abyss, Yeosang immediately retreated a few steps. Instead of down, he tried to look up and at Zey’s grey houses. Through his mask, he audibly tried to fix his breathing. With an inward prayer that the man wouldn’t throw up or panic at the idea of transgression, Jongho turned to look at Mingi.</p><p>“Is it a good idea to still climb down and over? It might be the easier way for him to slide down if he’s not used to hiking.”</p><p>Mingi regarded the nearby edge. Behind his forehead, the cogs turned as he calculated the risk and possibility.</p><p>“I agree,” he said finally. “Then you go first and show him. I’ll stabilise him.” At his signal, all three of them dashed over to the Chasm and threw their bodies over the edge. Yeosang determinedly followed behind them even when his movements were less secure and unaware of the danger that threatened them if they were to hesitate too long.</p><p>Jongho’s eyes were by now used to the familiar form of Mingi’s door in the dark. As he quickly rammed a hook into the wall next to him and shot his rope over to the stone above Mingi’s door, he tried to hurry for Yeosang’s sake. The man hung next to him on the wall with a pale face and trembling hands. Mingi had wrapped one arm around him to shield him with his taller body and trap him successfully against the wall.</p><p>Once Jongho was ready, he swung his metal-wrapped fingers over the rope and let gravity pull him. Without a single sound, he arrived at a lower point on the other side of the wall within seconds. Darkness whizzed past his face, and he used the right moment to pull up his feet and catch his momentum against the wall. He hung there on one arm while he opened the door with the other one. It put barely any strain on his muscles, even less to since he used his left hand. He hung securely.</p><p>After a second, he managed to open Mingi’s door and dropped down on the small threshold in front of it before he stepped in. Once he had put both bags on the ground securely, he stepped back into the opening. Trustful, he motioned Yeosang to follow.</p><p>The librarian struggled for a good moment. Mingi stabilised his wobbles to the best of his ability and quietly explained that he just had to hold on tightly, too. Jongho waited and merely opened his arms for Yeosang to crash right into. Better him than the wall.</p><p>Once Yeosang got the idea, he nodded shyly. His blonde locks peeked out from underneath his dark hat as he manoeuvred around until he could hold unto the rope. Very shaky, and very slowly, he dropped his weight onto the rope.</p><p>Jongho stood as a tower of strength. Not a single hint of hesitation crossed his face when Yeosang raced at him. Both of them closed their eyes at the impact, and then the librarian's small form already hit Jongho’s body. Thankfully, he didn’t fall. He merely had to catch his weight with one foot, but he cradled Yeosang close still. In his arms, Yeosang breathed hectically and tried not to make any sound that could give his fear away. When their hands brushed accidentally as Yeosang grabbed Jongho’s arm for purchase, the same pleasant warmth like before remained on Jongho’s skin even after he let go.</p><p>With a gentle pat on his back, Jongho walked him over to Mingi’s table. By the time Yeosang plopped down on the chair with no strength left in his shaking body, Mingi also stumbled in. He balanced himself quickly and pulled in the hook before he shut the door. Only then, a shared exhale from all of them mixed in the air. Mingi giggled at the timing of their sigh.</p><p>“Well, welcome to Zey, Yeosang. May it be kind to you.” While Mingi shrugged off his coat and brewed some tea, Jongho closely regarded Yeosang. His face was still stiff and worried, and his eyes curiously wandered about while also constantly losing their focus, too. Their new friend was distraught, and Jongho suspected he might need some rest.</p><p>“How long until the curfew is over?”</p><p>Mingi glanced at his pocket watch. He snapped the little object open, nodded at the display, and pushed it back in the chest pocket of his vest.</p><p>“Another hour. Until then, you can drink tea and enjoy watching me fix a mask for him.”</p><p>-</p><p>After the day had officially begun for Zey, Jongho and Mingi brought Yeosang to Jongho’s home. Steering the man through the grimy streets proved difficult since he showed interest in every tiny aspect of Zey that was familiar to the other two men. They told him to keep his head low and stay inconspicuous, but the people, the interactions, and the general atmosphere all had Yeosang at the ready to equip his notebook at any time. Jongho and Mingi nearly had to drag him to the house so he wouldn’t stand out in between the shady figures of Zey.</p><p>As soon as Jongho stepped into his home, the pressure also lifted. Yeosang was now distracted with his living and working area, and Mingi blocked the door until the man had wandered off to look around.</p><p>Jongho and Mingi exchanged an exasperated look that bordered fondness. They had never regarded Zey’s face with awe, and it felt less cruel now that Yeosang pointed out its unique charms to them.</p><p>“I’ll leave you two to it. Let me know if you need help with anything. If he is too much of a handful, just send a delivery boy.” Mingi grinned at the way Yeosang stood next to Jongho’s table. He brimmed with excitement, and his large eyes above his mask shone impatiently with the need to ask something. Desperate, he tried to keep his tongue from interrupting their conversation.</p><p>“Yeah, rest for a while. They probably won’t search for him, after all I’ve gathered. We’ll contact you about the further plans soon.” Jongho handed Mingi his portion of the food they had gotten on the way. Yeosang had been surprised how cheap it was, but when Mingi reminded him of their economic situation, he had understood.</p><p>Mingi bid them a good day before he disappeared, and Jongho closed the door behind him with extra pressure. At once, he was weird to be alone with Yeosang. The pretty librarian was by his side immediately and called for Jongho’s attention.</p><p>Jongho needed another chair. Today, they would eat on the bed since he didn’t want to ask Yeosang to sit on his cold and dirty ground in his clean clothes. He let Yeosang ramble about everything he had to comment on while he unpacked their food.</p><p>“The Spheres are so much more horrifying in person! I really hope I won’t have to see them in action while I’m here! Now that I know how Zey’s life works, I also find them very creepy to imagine at night! And all is just how you described it! I see some unfitting parts to what I have read about, but you truly grew up here! You knew all the streets! Oh, also, do you live alone or…?”</p><p>Jongho had to snicker at the raise in his voice that fell to an insecure murmur as he looked around. Since it was Yeosang, he would probably pass out if somebody suddenly came in while he was already this overwhelmed with all the new sensations that impressed him.</p><p>As he handed Yeosang a platter with food, Jongho nodded reassuringly.</p><p>“It’s just us here. Tell me if you need anything, I will try to make it as comfortable as possible for you.” Less so because Yeosang was a prince. Mostly just because Jongho wanted him to feel secure and more at home than he had been in the palace.</p><p>“Got it, thanks. I never had much, so I don’t think I will need much. I might have to get used to your presence here until I leave, but that will work. As long as you don’t mind?”</p><p>Jongho chuckled as he shovelled spoonfuls of rice into his mouth. With great curiosity in the food, Yeosang copied him.</p><p>“I’m fine with it. We lived here as four people once.”</p><p>Surprised, Yeosang looked around the room that must look far too small for four people in his eyes. Jongho was prepared for the question as soon as he worded it.</p><p>“Where are they? Did they move out and you live alone, as Mingi does?”</p><p>Jongho mildly shook his head. The wounds of his father were still fresh, but he couldn’t stop the flow of time. Neither were life and death to be defied.</p><p>“They died. Hence why I wanted to check on you. I know what it feels like.” He said it with no victim-blaming or self-pity attached. Instead, his voice carried all the empathy he could muster.</p><p>Yeosang faltered in his motion where he had just lifted a spoonful of curry to his face. From how large the bite was, he enjoyed the meal greatly. Satisfaction spread in Jongho’s chest.</p><p>“I’m sorry about that.”</p><p>Shrugging, Jongho ignored the painful pull in his heart. It had neither been a surprise nor inevitable. Zey lived and breathed death.</p><p>“No need to apologise. At least, I could say farewell to them better than you. But especially since we share this experience, I want to help you with Seonghwa. Just how I could help my family with the money I gained from my visits to you.”</p><p>Yeosang caught on the time period that death must have occurred then, but he kept quiet about it. Instead, he smiled shyly at the offer for help.</p><p>“I thought Zey’s people didn’t help others?”</p><p>Huffing, Jongho gestured for him to eat his meal. Yeosang’s bell-like laughter filled the cold room with warmth as he did just that. From time to time, he glanced at Jongho with those glinting eyes of his, but they conveyed respect and fascination rather than negativity.</p><p>Jongho had no idea what swayed his mind himself. He knew that helping out was a dangerous thing to do. But even after countless lessons, he was ready to push that off to help Yeosang.</p><p>It was for Zey. He did it for Zey and its people. So that one day, they might all help each other without having to worry.</p><p>There couldn’t possibly be any other reason.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yooooo, we finished again! Thanks to everyone for reading, liking, commenting and any form of support! I appreciate it lots and look forward to it every day~</p><p>As some of you might be able to guess, this is a first book out of a trilogy! I will take a few days off this to write a one-shot for my story Crown, and then come back here with part two! Follow my Twitter @Susimau_s to stay updated, and I will hopefully remember to inform everyone here, too!</p><p>See you soon there! I hope everyone is safe and has a nice day ^^</p>
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